Tag: J.J. Watt

‘Top tier destination’: Texans legend J.J. Watt is a fan of Stefon Diggs trade

J.J. Watt has been pleased with the future of the Houston Texans over the past two offseasons.

J.J. Watt served as the final piece of the turning of times at NRG Stadium when the Houston Texans selected him 11th overall in 2011. Prior to his arrival, Houston had only one winning season.

Perhaps the arrival of Offensive Rookie of the Year and wunderkind C.J. Stroud sends a second wind through the franchise that ends with a Lombardi Trophy. Regardless, Watt is excited to see what unfolds in the Texans’ future.

The three-time Defensive Player of the Year took to Twitter on Wednesday following the Stefon Diggs trade, praising the AFC South franchise for its two-year turnaround. Last season, Houston added Stroud, along with Defensive Rookie of the Year Will Anderson Jr. and former Pro Bowl linebacker DeMeco Ryans as head coach.

A year later, the Texans added Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon, Diggs and four-time Pro Bowl defensive end Danielle Hunter.

The Texans were looking to build off their first double-digit win season in four years and saw the opportunity to splurge with Stroud still on his rookie contract. After failing to sign a premier running back at the start of free agency, general manager Nick Caserio traded a seventh-round pick to the Cincinnati Bengals for Mixon.

Mixon, who will turn 28 in July, is coming off another 1,000-yard rushing season and has shown no signs of slowing down. The Texans believe his best years are still ahead and plan to use him as their bell-cow back after agreeing to terms on a three-year extension worth $27 million.

“I’m not thinking about a drop-off,” Ryans said of Mixon at the owners meetings last week. “I’m thinking about the positives and the things that [he’s] done in his career. He’s been consistent throughout his entire career — a guy who can move the chains for you, a guy who can open up the passing game with his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. He just opens up the things that we can do offensively.”

Defensively, the addition of Hunter should be considered an upgrade — on paper at least — over the departed Jonathan Greenard. He’s coming off a career-high 16.5-sack season with the Minnesota Vikings and led the league with 23 tackles for loss.

Signed to a two-year deal worth up to $51 million, Hunter looks to become the first Texans player since Watt to record back-to-back double-digit sack campaigns on Houston’s defense. He also will serve as a teacher and confidant for Anderson, who broke Watt’s rookie sack record this past fall.

“He’s exciting,” Hunter said of Anderson during his introductory press conference last month. “Has a lot of tools. I was with him earlier, and he just can’t stop jumping, how eager he is to go out there and rush the passer together. Very good kid. I’m excited just to be able to go out there and teach him a lot of things that I know and become a better player.

One of the greatest defensive linemen of the 2000s, Watt guided Houston to five playoff appearances in 10 years. On top of winning three Defensive Player of the Year awards, Watt also recorded 101 of his 113 career sacks as a member of the AFC South franchise.

Watt was the second player added to Houston’s Ring of Honor this offseason, joining Hall of Fame wide receiver Andre Johnson. He’ll join Johnson in Canton, Ohio, when eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2028.

J.J. Watt sees both sides of Steelers trading QB Kenny Pickett

J.J. Watt understands why Pickett wanted to be traded but he also gets it why the Steelers signed Russell Wilson.

It came as a huge surprise when the Pittsburgh Steelers traded quarterback Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles just days after news came out that the Steelers were signing Russell Wilson and it was rumored there would be a quarterback competition.

However, it came out after that Pickett was the one who initiated the trade and was hoping to land somewhere with an opportunity to start but frankly, his situation now is much worse behind Jalen Hurts.

Former NFL star J.J. Watt was on the Pat McAfee Show and talked about the Pickett situation. He offered an interesting perspective about it and noted he could see both sides of it.

“I’m sure he is frustrated. I’m sure he feels like he never got the full proper opportunity to show his potential and develop, which is a thing that’s happening in this league. We are not giving guys time to develop, grow and fight through adversity and come out the other side, because it’s such a win-now world that we live in. So, I don’t blame him at all for wanting an opportunity to compete somewhere or go somewhere and try something new. When you bring in a guy and say he’s automatically the starter and you don’t even get a chance, I get it. I completely understand his side. But at the same time, I don’t blame the Steelers at all. When an opportunity presents itself like that, a minimum contract for a guy that’s won a Super Bowl, you’ve got to take it.”

Watt has a vested interest in the Steelers with little brother T.J. the biggest star on defense. Regardless of what he says about Pickett, he knows his little brother is the best defensive player in the league but has never won a playoff game and he wants that to end this season. Wilson gives the Steelers a much better chance to break that losing streak.

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WATCH: Nick Foles, Jalen Hurts among those congratulating Jason Kelce on retirement

Jalen Hurts, Nick Foles, Charles Barkley, Shaq, Jim Thome, and Joel Embiid were among those who congratulated Jason Kelce on retirement

Jason Kelce ended his 13-year NFL career on Monday, announcing his retirement in an emotional press conference that featured friends, family, and teammates.

The New Heights Podcast’s social media team released an emotional tribute video with Jalen Hurts and Nick Foles, among almost 20 video messages to Kelce to celebrate the moment and his accomplishments.

A sixth-round draft pick out of the University of Cincinnati in 2011, Kelce started and played in 193 games over his 13 seasons.

Jason Kelce is the fifth center in NFL history with at least six All-Pro selections. The other four — Jim Otto, Bulldog Turner, Dermotti Dawson, and Jim Ringo — are all in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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J.J. Watt’s spiky Super Bowl 58 hairdo turned into a hysterical meme

J.J. Watt’s hairdo turned into one of the best Super Bowl 58 memes.

Former NFL defensive end-turned-CBS Sports NFL analyst J.J. Watt rocked a spiky hairdo at Super Bowl 58, and you can bet the internet turned it into a meme.

Watt’s spiky hair reminded everyone of those ’90s boy band looks, and it was hard to miss how his hair was styled up whenever he was on CBS talking about the big game between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs.

Seriously, this turned into the meme that kept on giving, as you could pinpoint plenty of things that Watt’s look reminded you of when you saw it.

The Super Bowl is a great time for jokes, and we’ve got some good ones here, like this one. We respect the look, J.J. Watt!

As we figured he would, Watt had a really great sense of humor about his brand-new hairdo.

NFL fans came up with plenty of great jokes about Watt’s bold hairdo, one we really hope he adopts as his permanent look from here on out.

Former star DE J.J. Watt calls Bengals’ Trey Hendrickson underrated

Huge praise for Trey Hendrickson from J.J. Watt.

Cincinnati Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson had a very good season, and he was noticed by former NFL defensive end J.J. Watt, who still talks to his former Houston Texans teammate and current Bengal DJ Reader.

“I talk to him about all those guys all the time,” J.J. Watt said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “(Sam) Hubbard and Trey. They’ve got a really good squad down there.”

Hendrickson finished just behind Watt’s younger brother, T.J. Watt in sacks this season, getting 17.5 while Watt had 19 for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Hobson said Watt smiled as he talked about Hendrickson.

“Doesn’t always wear gloves, right? Goes barehanded. Among football guys, that’s like, ‘OK. Doesn’t wear gloves. That’s a little out there.'”

“But you respect it because it means you play the game a certain way and I think he embodies that 
 He’s a great player. An underrated player. He doesn’t get as much credit as he probably should, but he had a great year 
 He’s got some great moves and he’s also got power.”

Praise from someone of J.J. Watt’s caliber is nothing to scoff at, so for Hendrickson to be recognized by him is a high compliment.

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J.J. Watt considered unretiring to join the Texans

Texans great J.J. Watt admitted he considered a return to the NFL to play for his old team last season.

It was speculated all season.

Ever since the Houston Texans started to win games under new head coach DeMeco Ryans and rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud started to prove himself as one of the league’s premier players there was an overarching question that couldn’t be helped as a former Texans legend sang his praise of the new team.

Was there any chance J.J. Watt would unretire and play for Ryans?

Watt was openly working out at the facility and would admit as much when he talked about Houston’s success weekly on the Pat McAfee show. Houston had a dire need for a third pass rusher, one they eventually found in Derek Barnett, and the fit seemed logical once the Texans were playoff bound.

It turns out, fans weren’t too far off from their hopes according to Watt himself on the Pat McAfee show this week.

“Halfway through this last season, I definitely was monitoring the Steelers and Texans situations but it never escalated into any sort of actual potential,” Watt said.

He added: “I’m very pleased with the way things went. If it was something where I could have brought something that propelled someone to a potential Super Bowl, fill in a need to take them to a new level. Just to do it would have been ridiculous.”

It sounds like Watt would have only truly considered it if he could have played with his brothers or if the Texans had been clear Super Bowl contender rather than a plucky underdog in the playoffs.

Still, it’s interesting to hear the future Hall of Famer and future Texans Ring of Honor player admit that it was under consideration during the year.

Houston will have to find other ways to boost their pass rush moving forward. Breakout player Jonathan Greenard is an unrestricted free agent as well as midseason addition Derek Barnett. Their ability to pair another player with young star Will Anderson will be one to monitor as Ryans looks to assemble a Super Bowl-caliber defense.

J.J. Watt: Steelers players backing Mike Tomlin aren’t satisfied with the outcome

Mike Tomlin’s players have come out in full support of their head coach, but it doesn’t mean their satisfied with the results.

With what’s now known as made-up commentary about Mike Tomlin considering stepping down from the Pittsburgh Steelers, there’s been overwhelming support from players of their head coach sticking around.

Some, like T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward, have said they won’t play for another. That’s huge, considering Watt is still in the prime of his career, and Heyward is heading into the final year of his contract.

“You look in the locker room, and you read the quotes of the guys in their exit interviews with the media, and every single guy has said that they only want to play for Tomlin,” J.J. Watt said on Wednesday’s Pat McAfee Show. “T.J. said it was a big part of his contract negotiation a couple years ago, he wants to play for Mike T., the only guy he wants to play for is Mike T. Everybody in that locker room loves him respects him wants to play for him.”

Just because they love their head coach doesn’t mean they love falling short of or losing in the first round of the playoffs every year.

“I also don’t think that that that means that they’re satisfied with the outcome. That means they’re satisfied with the way things have gone, and that means they’re satisfied with where they are currently.”

Watt sees both sides of the coin. He understands fans’ frustrations with Tomlin’s lack of playoff success and their desire for the team to move on from him — or at least weigh their options.

“I think there’s certainly things that they want to improve and get better on, but in today’s day and age, I also see the people on the other side. I do see the people’s side where they’re like, well, if Bill Belichick can be escorted out of his role as the head coach of a team that he won six championships with, why are we in this situation where we can’t maybe at least have a conversation about our coach.”

But, ultimately, for Watt, it comes down to there’s no quick fix that Tomlin walking away or getting jettisoned would solve.

“I am personally fully well aware of how difficult it is in this league to find a good football coach. I do think that people think that there’s these quick fixes and things somebody’s going to come in and make this thing miraculously better and figure it all. I really, really, really do not know if you’re going to find many better football coaches in the world than Mike Tomlin.”

While Watt, like several others, believes Tomlin is the only head coach for the Steelers, it doesn’t mean they do not need significant changes.

“I would say from an outsider standpoint, I think that Mike Tomlin is an unbelievable leader of men. He’s an unbelievable head coach. Obviously, this year, they had to change their offensive coordinator mid-year, and that offense was a bit of an issue. I do think that there are things that can certainly be improved. Mike Tomlin is still the best leader of men for this organization, so I think if you’re willing to go into the offseason and have realistic conversations about what needs to happen and how things need to change to make that next jump, you can also say we should still have Mike T. at the helm.”

Like it or not, Mike Tomlin will be head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers for the foreseeable future. Now it’s all about how the brass handles the rest going forward.

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J.J. Watt was so happy for the city of Houston after the Texans’ dominant playoff win

J.J. Watt is so proud of these young Texans.

The Houston Texans opened a lot of eyes on Saturday.

From long touchdown runs that necessitated oxygen after the fact to a resounding defensive performance over an “elite” quarterback, Houston played a complete game in its first playoff win since 2019. It certainly seems like DeMeco Ryans and CJ Stroud are building something special.

One of the only people who might have seen this coming is Texans legend J.J. Watt. The now-retired, future Hall of Fame defensive end still closely watches his old team. And after Saturday’s dominant team performance, Watt couldn’t help but be impressed.

More importantly, he was so happy that the city of Houston got to enjoy its NFL team playing this well:

It’s safe to say that if these ascending Texans have won Watt over, then they’re definitely something right. Congratulations, Houston. You’ve already got the best endorsement possible.

J.J. Watt got incredibly hyped to see his brother T.J. Watt’s historic 19th sack of season

J.J. Watt got very excited for his brother, T.J. Watt, after the latter earned his 19th sack of the season.

Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt joined elite company as only the fourth-ever player to reach 19-plus sacks in their career multiple times.

As Watt earned his 19th sack of the season against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday, he joined his brother, former defensive end J.J. Watt, as one of only four players to ever reach that many sacks more than once.

If T.J. Watt still has the most sacks of any active players by the end of this season, he’ll be the only NFL player to ever win the league’s sack title three times in their career. Talk about a monumental sack for the younger Watt brother.

J.J. Watt couldn’t help but hype up his sibling for his awesome achievement on social media.

However, T.J. Watt later went down in the game with a knee injury and was ruled out for the rest of the contest.

We hope Watt is able to play next week if the Steelers make the AFC playoffs so he can continue to add to his impressive career sack total.

Even if he doesn’t, he’s more than deserving of this year’s NFL Defensive Player of the Year honor for a phenomenal season.

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Will Anderson Jr. sets Texans record, makes late push for Defensive Rookie of the Year

Will Anderson Jr. is making a late push for Defensive Rookie of the Year after setting a Texans record on Sunday

The Houston Texans have missed Will Anderson Jr.

They decided the pass rusher from Alabama could be a future face of their franchise when they selected him third overall in the 2023 NFL draft. General manager Nick Caserio and head coach DeMeco Ryans’ faith was even further shown through the hefty trade price, including two first-round picks, they paid to move back into the top three after selecting quarterback C.J. Stroud.

By all accounts, his season to date had been a success. He had five sacks, 42 tackles and 56 quarterback pressures while playing a huge role in the Texans massive turnaround in run defense. Anderson had consistently shown the talent and explosiveness that captivated Houston’s coaching staff despite missing their Week 15 and 16 contests.

On Sunday, he added another feather in his cap.

Anderson had one of the best games of his young career against the Tennessee Titans. He gathered two sacks, both on the same drive, and six quarterback pressures while terrorizing both Will Levis and backup Ryan Tannehill. Per Next Gen Stats, Anderson had a pressure rate of 54.5%, affecting the quarterback on over half of his snaps played.

The performance was not only a huge boost for the Texans team hopes, as the win put them in position to clinch an AFC Wild Card spot if they can win their Week 18 finale in Indianapolis, but also gave him some personal accolades.

His seven sacks on the season passed Whitney Mercilus for the most by a Houston Texans rookie in franchise history. For comparison, franchise legend J.J. Watt had only 5.0 in his rookie campaign. It could have also helped him from a national perspective.

The Defensive Rookie of the Year award is far from a done contest, albeit Philadelphia defensive tackle Jalen Carter is a huge betting favorite. Anderson’s two-sack performance allowed him to pass Carter in the category and his narrative as a compelling factor in Houston’s turnaround, in a potential playoff season, may be enough to capture voters.

Certainly, there are bigger concerns for Anderson than personal awards or franchise records. Houston fans, however, have to feel quite good that their team has incredible building blocks on both sides on the football. They’ll see next week whether or not it’s enough to make the AFC playoffs .