The Houston Texans are continuing their trend of going full scorched-earth mode on their franchise, this time releasing star DE J.J. Watt at his request.
The 32-year-old defensive end wanted to seek an opportunity with another franchise and his request was granted. He would have cost the Texans $17.5 million against their salary cap, so this mutual decision helped Houston save some money.
So where will J.J. Watt land now? Is he a fit with the Kansas City Chiefs? Well, I guess it depends on what you view as a fit.
Yes, the Chiefs have a need at the defensive end position. Right now, they have a total of four players at the position under contract for 2021. Those players are Frank Clark, Mike Danna, Tim Ward and Austin Edwards. Kansas City could absolutely use help opposite Clark, and Watt could provide that, but how much help and at what cost?
Statistically speaking, Watt is coming off of the worst 16-game season of his professional career, amassing 52 combined tackles, five sacks, seven pass breakups, and an interception on the year. It’s one of just two seasons in the last five years where he’s played in all 16 games, as injuries have been an issue. His best season during that span came in 2018 when he had 16 sacks and 60 total pressures on the year. Entering his eleventh season, you can’t help but feel his best years are behind him.
Watt is also a vested veteran, meaning he’s not subject to the NFL’s waiver-wire system. That means the rat race for his services has likely already begun and that he could find a new home soon. That’s something that will make things particularly difficult for the Chiefs as they still have their own salary cap situation to manage before they can even think about signing free agents.
It’s safe to assume that Watt is going to want to recoup some of the money that he lost in his release, which also makes things challenging for Kansas City. There are a number of other factors that could play into his decision too. If he’s chasing a Super Bowl, sign him up with either the Chiefs, Packers, Bucs or Bills. If he wants to be closer to his family, the Pittsburgh Steelers (brothers both play in Pittsburgh) and Chicago Bears (wife plays for Chicago Red Stars) make a lot of sense.
For Kansas City, signing Watt would feel more like a luxury than a necessity and I’m not sure how many luxuries this team can afford. Perhaps the best thing that could come from the Watt release is that it could push a young and cheap edge rusher down the draft board and into striking distance for the Chiefs.
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