Tag: J.J. Watt release

J.J. Watt almost picked the Steelers to play with his brothers

Former Houston Texans DE J.J. Watt almost signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, which would have allowed him to play with brothers T.J. and Derek.

There are iconic brothers in the NFL, but seldom do they get the chance to play with one another.

The Pittsburgh Steelers did have two brothers on their roster from 2020-22 in outside linebacker T.J. Watt and fullback Derek Watt. They could have added a third in defensive end J.J. Watt following his release from the Houston Texans in the 2021 offseason.

Watt joined the “Green Light with Chris Long” podcast and talked about how the Steelers would have been the beneficiaries of three Watts on the roster. Yet it was Watt’s conscientious nature as the big brother that compelled him to bow out.

“Certainly, it would have been awesome to play with my brothers, but T.J. was also going through the contract situation there, and the last thing I was going to do was come in and take any money away from his contract,” Watt said via NFL.com’s Kevin Patra.

The youngest Watt signed a four-year extension worth over $112 million with $80 million guaranteed ahead of the Steelers’ opener in 2021. Adding the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year would have given Pittsburgh a nightmare edge rush, but it would have come at the expense of fielding a competitive roster in later years.

The Texans’ former 2011 first-round pick eventually signed with the Arizona Cardinals, playing 23 games over the next two seasons and extending his career sack total to 114.5.

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4 reasons for former Texans DE J.J. Watt to pick the Cardinals

Former Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt has picked the Arizona Cardinals. Here are four reasons that could have been appealing.

Former Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt is taking his talents to the desert and joining forces with the Arizona Cardinals. While his original draft team becomes a parched, desolate landscape depleted of victories, the NFC West club is an oasis for the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year who still has something to prove.

Here are four reasons that had to be appealing to Watt as he chose the Cardinals after his release from the Texans.

Cardinals signing former Texans DE J.J. Watt to 2-year contract

The Arizona Cardinals are collecting another Houston Texans legend with the signing of DE J.J. Watt to a two-year contract.

Another former Houston Texans All-Pro will continue his storied career with the Arizona Cardinals.

According to Ian Rapoport from the NFL Network, former Texans defensive end J.J. Watt will sign a two-year contract with the NFC West club worth $31 million with $23 million guaranteed.

The Cardinals defense gets deadlier as they already have a pass-rushing force in edge defender Chandler Jones, although he was limited to five games in 2020. Outside linebacker Haason Reddick led the Cardinals with 12.5 sacks.

Watt is also joining forces with former Texans receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who was traded to the Cardinals at the start of free agency in 2020. Over the course of the past 12 months, the Texans have seen two of their star players in the 2010s end up with Arizona.

In 2020, the former 2011 first-round pick from Wisconsin had a down year with 5.0 sacks through 16 starts. However, Watt’s 14 tackles for loss were in the top-10, and his seven pass breakups were the most since 2015, his last season to win defensive player of the year, when he collected eight. The 31-year-old also returned an interception for a touchdown, the first time since 2014.

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Fact check: J.J. Watt does not have a Peloton

Former Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt had to take to Twitter on Monday morning to clear up that he does not own a Peloton.

The NFL world was abuzz on Monday morning when a Peloton profile allegedly belonging to former Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt was found and published to Twitter.

On the Peloton profile entitled “kJWatt” — either a pun on the unit kilojoules or evidence Watt’s massive fingers clip nearby keys on the regular — some of the locations listed were Super Bowl 56, Green Bay, Cleveland, and Buffalo, indicating that Watt may have visited these cities or spoken with their teams as he looks for a new NFL home.

On March 1 in a normal year, the NFL combine would be going on in Indianapolis and draft prospects would have to answer the media’s questions from podiums and tables. In March 1 of an ongoing pandemic that has squelched human activity, speculation over a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year’s free agency destinations via hints on Peloton ensued.

Of course, just as Watt has crushed the dreams of many a quarterback dropping back to pass or stifled the progress of any advancing runner, the former 2011 first-round pick from Wisconsin shut down the rampant rumors.

“I don’t own a bike,” Watt tweeted. “Stop.”

Watt was released by the Texans on Feb. 12, and he is free to negotiate with any NFL team, not having to wait for free agency to begin on March 17.

How much are teams willing to pay for former Texans DE J.J. Watt?

Former Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt may not get the same money he got in Houston, but he could have a better shot at a championship.

Former Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt was due to make $17.5 million in 2021, the final year of his contract. At age 31 and presumably entering his post-prime years, the fact the money wasn’t guaranteed made him a bittersweet cut option for the salary cap-strapped Texans.

The release also gave the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year the opportunity to find a more competitive team that could give him a shot at playing in a Super Bowl, something other three-time defensive players of the year, Hall-of-Famer Lawrence Taylor and Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, have done.

According to ESPN’s Dianna Russini, the offers Watt is getting from other teams isn’t as much as he would have made with Houston — $15 million to $16 million annually compared to $17.5 million with the Texans in 2021.

Watt would be willing to take a pay cut if it meant he had a shot at championship. If the Texans weren’t in the salary cap situation they are in, perhaps Houston would have found a way to keep their face of the franchise in the 2010s.

Hundreds of Texans fans say goodbye to J.J. Watt on Sports Radio 610 hotline

Hundreds of Houston Texans fans left voicemails at Sports Radio 610 telling All-Pro DE J.J. Watt goodbye.

Sports Radio 610 [KILT-AM] in Houston created a hotline where Houston Texans fans could leave voicemails for J.J. Watt, and the fans responded with hundreds of messages of admiration and support.

One of the best voicemails was from man who told about how his wife gave birth to their daughter on Sept. 14, 2017, during the Texans’ 14-9 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night Football.

“I got to put on the NFL Network right there in the labor and delivery room, and I’m like, ‘You can do it, babe. Yeah, come on, push, push,’ and I’m looking up and I’m looking up,” the caller said. “And right when you pancaked that center to end the game, because I think they were doing pass backs trying to make a miracle, you just laid this dude out. That very moment my daughter was born. So, it’s just something special that we had. I just genuinely want to say thank you. You’ve done it the right way. Nothing but love, J.J. Thanks a lot.”

Watt did it the right way with collecting three NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards while with the Texans, and was the face of the franchise through the 2010s. Counting as a $17.5 million salary cap hit in 2021, the cash-strapped Texans had to make a move to get under the cap, which meant parting ways with their All-Pro defensive end that the city will forever love.

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Titans have made contact with former Texans DE J.J. Watt’s representatives

The Tennessee Titans have made contact with former Houston Texans DE J.J. Watt’s representatives.

J.J. Watt may get a chance to wear the old Houston Oilers uniforms after all.

According to the Titans Wire, Tennessee Titans general manager spoke with reporters who cover the Titans on Tuesday and told them that the AFC South club had indeed made contact with representatives for the former Houston Texans defensive end.

Watt is represented by Tom Condon of CAA Sports.

The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year has been the face of the Texans’ franchise throughout the 2010s and it would be another sad example of Nashville taking something that is near and dear to the hearts of every Houston sports fan.

Watt would have incentive to go to Nashville, and not just for the Oilers jerseys or to stick it to the Texans. The Titans are coached by Mike Vrabel, who was the Texans’ defensive coordinator in 2017. The Titans gave former Texans Jadeveon Clowney and Johnathan Joseph a shot, and would be more than willing to provide an opportunity for Watt to beef up their pass rush.

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Cardinals WR DeAndre Hopkins recruits former Texans DE J.J. Watt on Instagram

Arizona Cardinals WR DeAndre Hopkins posted on Instragram an image trying to recruit former Houston Texans DE J.J. Watt to the NFC West club.

DeAndre Hopkins wants to finish what he and J.J. Watt started with the Houston Texans.

The Arizona Cardinals receiver, who completed his first year with the NFC West club after a trade in March of 2020, posted an altered picture of him and Watt in black Cardinals uniforms on Instagram. Aside from the imagery of the Texans’ two biggest stars of the past 10 years in Arizona get-up is that the overall scene is the postgame after a Texans game due to the fact Texans players can be seen in the background.

Is Hopkins sending a subtle message, not just to Watt, but to their original draft team?

https://www.instagram.com/p/CLXQIZjACPM/

Watt was due $17.5 million on the last year of his contract with the Texans, who were over the salary cap for 2021. Watt’s final year was not guaranteed, which made him an easy cut.

If Watt were to go to Arizona, it would sour plenty of Houston sports fans, not against Hopkins and Watt, but against chairman and CEO Cal McNair for allowing it to happen.

What if former Texans DE J.J. Watt teamed up with Rams DT Aaron Donald?

If former Houston Texans DE J.J. Watt wanted to terrorize the NFL, he would team up with Los Angeles Rams DT Aaron Donald.

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Everyone has their listings of where J.J. Watt will play in 2021. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers are easy teams to pad such a list. However, there is one team that would wreak havoc across NFL trenches if they could land the former Houston Texans defensive end.

In NFL.com writer Nick Shook’s list of teams that could be the next home for Watt, the Los Angeles Rams were mentioned as a possibility.

This one is probably more fantasy than anything, but that won’t stop Rams fans from envisioning a defensive front that includes Watt and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald. Watt would seemingly take the place of Michael Brockers, but a simple cut-and-sign process won’t clear nearly enough space (just $4.6 million) to accommodate Watt. The Rams would still be over the projected $180.5 million cap by over $22 million, meaning a host of moves elsewhere would be necessary to bring him in.

Brockers, Donald, and Watt would generate sugarplums of quarterback sacks and runs for no gain, but the salary cap hit is the metformin of reality that could keep the super-team defensive line from forming.

Consider Watt was the most double-teamed edge rusher in 2020, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Taking away help to block Watt would leave Donald uncontested. Providing help in the interior offensive line to neutralize Donald would give Watt one-on-one opportunities that could lead to an offense’s disaster.

Even Watt and Donald being on the same team would be historic as it would be the first time two three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year winners were on the same team. The entire 16-game season would be a battle between Watt and Donald as they vied for their record-setting fourth defensive award.

Watt can still play, and when he finds that team, the tape and stats will prove it.

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ESPN says J.J. Watt was NFL’s most doubled-teamed edge rusher in 2020

Former Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt was the most double-teamed edge rusher in the NFL in 2020, according to ESPN.

Former Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt still has something to give, even though he had 5.0 sacks and two forced fumbles through 16 starts last season.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, no other edge rusher was double-teamed more than Watt, who was double-teamed 30.1% of the time.

Watt was also tied for the seventh-most tackles for loss last year with 14. His seven pass breakups were tied for the fourth-most among non-defensive backs, and were tied with the Denver Broncos’ Shelby Harris for the most among defensive linemen.

The problem with the Texans’ defense was they couldn’t stop the run, possibly a consequence of letting defensive tackle D.J. Reader walk in free agency, and no one else could take advantage of Watt’s double-teams. Outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus sacked the quarterback 4.0 times, tied for the lowest in his career in a 16-game season.

The evidence is out there that Watt can still be a dominant force on a defense looking to bolster its edge rush. Instead of being part of a soft rebuild in Houston, Watt will add to his legacy in another NFL city.

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