If the Miami Dolphins had any hopes or aspirations of adding former Houston Texans defensive lineman JJ Watt to their ranks this offseason, they may want to consider a different course of action. There is no reason to believe at this point in time that Miami had many any serious run at Watt, who was cut from the Texans earlier this month as a “good faith” measure (and likely in hopes of some good PR amid the Deshaun Watson standoff).
Because while Miami has graduated from a young rebuilder and become a team that could feasibly bring in a handful of veteran free agents to help try to put this team over the top, they’re not anywhere near the position to compete with the kind of offers Watt is reportedly receiving on the free agent market.
Miami’s free agent additions as established veterans make sense for players who are looking to extend their career and play for short-term deals at reasonable rates. That’s not how the league is handling Watt.
According to ESPN’s Diana Russini, the Watt camp has gotten one offer somewhere in the ballpark of $16M per season.
JJ Watt has received several offers from teams. The best offer he has received right now is between 15-16 million per year, per sources.
— Dianna Russini (@diannaESPN) February 25, 2021
This market tell us a few things: first and foremost that Watt isn’t a fit for the Dolphins this offseason. He’ll be taking his talents elsewhere. But that doesn’t mean Miami fans don’t still have something to root for. One of the teams widely rumored to be in the running is the Buffalo Bills — and the Dolphins should be hoping to see Watt go literally anywhere else. Miami will already have their hands full this offseason trying to chase down Buffalo in the AFC East standings. But if the Bills add Watt, that task becomes even more daunting before the offseason even really gets started.
So while it may be a bummer to some (but not all) Dolphins fans that Watt is all but out of the question for the Dolphins, all fans of Miami still have some rooting interest in the Watt sweepstakes:
Anywhere but Buffalo.