5 teams where J.J. Watt could win a Super Bowl ring
By Peter Panacy
The Texans granted J.J. Watt his wish and released him to hit NFL free agency. But these five teams would give him the best shot at a Super Bowl ring.
It shouldn’t be too shocking of news, but the Houston Texans are officially releasing star defensive end J.J. Watt after he made it clear he wanted a fresh start somewhere else this offseason.
The Texans could have made it more about the franchise than the player, electing to trade away the five-time first-team All-Pro to the team willing to give up the most in terms of NFL Draft compensation and/or other players in return. Instead, however, Houston did right by Watt and released him outright, allowing him to essentially pick wherever he wanted to play this upcoming season.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported the news Friday morning.
Even almost 32 years old, Watt is still one of the league’s premier defenders. And while he’s had an unfortunate recent string of injury history, there’s little doubting he could either transform a defense in need of playmakers or take an elite-level defense to an entirely new level.
There’s a good chance, too, whatever defense Watt lands with will see its chances at winning a Super Bowl in the near future increase dramatically.
That should be a primary determining factor in Watt’s decision-making process.
As such, these five squads could play a vital role in helping Watt get a Super Bowl ring.
J.J. Watt landing spot No. 5: San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers boasted one of the league’s elite defenses in 2019 with star pass-rushers Nick Bosa and Dee Ford leading the way. Unfortunately, both missed almost all of 2020 with serious injuries, and Ford’s status and hefty contract heading into 2021 make him a likely cap casualty.
The Niners have long since centered their defensive efforts around their defensive line, and cutting Ford would free up enough cap space for general manager John Lynch to go after Watt this offseason.
Watt might not be a perfect fit for San Francisco’s 4-3 Wide 9 defense, but he did play alongside the 49ers’ new defensive coordinator, DeMeco Ryans, back in 2011. So there’s some continuity there.
And while the Niners struggled to a 6-10 finish in 2020, one should expect they won’t suffer the same massive amount of injuries again in 2021 and should be right back in the playoff picture.