The Arizona Cardinals’ big free agent acquisition this offseason was defensive end J.J. Watt. After he was released by the Houston Texans, they signed him to a two-year contract worth as much as $31 million.
They clearly believe he has a lot to offer and that he still be a dominant player in the league.
However, they plan on him playing less than he has in the past.
According to NFL.com’s Jim Trotter, the Cardinals want him to play only roughly 65% of the team’s defensive snaps in 2021.
Trotter spoke with Cardinals defensive line coach Brentson Buckner.
“I’ve told him, ‘You’ve got capable young guys, so let them eat some of the snaps,’ ” Buckner said, according to Trotter. “It’s super hard for him because he’s always had to be the man, but I’ve told him that he’s got to be able to trust me that every guy in our room is going to have a role, and one might be for a guy to take 10 snaps off J.J. in the run game. Or to take four or five rushes early, so in the fourth quarter of games and the fourth quarter of the season, you are fresh. I had the same talk with Jason Pierre-Paul and even Calais Campbell in their primes. My goal is to make you just as productive with the least amount of work on your body. Now you can play 15 years rather than be broken down at the end of Year 12.”
Watt logged more than 1,000 defensive snaps in 2020, 91% of the Texans’ total defensive snaps. Every year he has had a healthy year, he has played at least 88% of his team’s defensive snaps.
This will;l be new territory for him. Previous to this season, he has rarely come off the field. The Cardinals intend on using him in a rotation. Zach Allen will spell him when they are in base sets and Markus Golden and Devon Kennard will allow him to sometimes take a snap or two off in nicksel formations.
He has had a combined nine sacks in 2019 and 2020. He hopes to get at least 10. That earns him an extra $1 million this season and escalates his 2021 salary by $1 million if he can achieve that.
Watt has not been a “more is less” guy in his career. At 32 years old, that might be exactly what he needs and what the Cardinals need so he is dominant in September and also in December and beyond.
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