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.
J.J. Watt landing spot No. 4: Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills took the league by storm in 2020, but it was head coach Sean McDermott’s offense, not the defense, that was the primary reason here.
While the Bills don’t have too much to worry about regarding their offense, it’s hard to envision McDermott passing up on an opportunity to improve the other side of the ball. Especially considering Buffalo was in the middle of the pack in 2020 in terms of sack production with 38.
J.J. Watt would provide a massive boost to a still-good Bills defensive line, adding some veteran prowess while also serving as a premier pass-rusher.
It would be something of a luxury addition. But considering Buffalo is now just opening its Super Bowl window and doesn’t have too many roster needs, now would be the time for McDermott and Co. to get greedy.
True, the Bills are slightly over the projected $180.5 million salary cap by almost $2 million, per Over the Cap. But with some slight roster jockeying and subsequent addition of Watt, their defense would shoot right back into the realm of being elite.
J.J. Watt landing spot No. 3: Seattle Seahawks
Few teams in the NFL had worse defensive lines than the Seattle Seahawks last season. And for the bulk of 2020, the Seahawks defense overall was one of the more permeable units around the league.
While this unit improved somewhat towards the end of the year, Seattle’s success was almost entirely predicated on quarterback Russell Wilson, wide receiver D.K. Metcalf and the offense.
Armed with only a handful of picks in the 2021 NFL Draft and none in the first round, one could figure Seahawks general manager John Schneider would want to jump at any available opportunity to reinforce the defensive side of the ball. Fans can recall just how potent Seattle’s defense was back in the “Legion of Boom” days in the early 2000s. And while the focus was primarily on defensive backs like Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas, some forget upfront defenders like Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril were big reasons why, too.
Watt might not be able to transform Seattle’s defense into elite status. But he’d be a big part of a transformation there, and Wilson’s presence alone has kept the Seahawks in regular Super Bowl contention anyway.
J.J. Watt landing spot No. 2: Green Bay Packers
Why not go back to his home state?
The Green Bay Packers would also make a lot of sense for J.J. Watt in 2021. Not unlike the Seahawks, the Packers are regular Super Bowl contenders thanks to quarterback Aaron Rodgers and almost regardless of the supporting offensive and defensive cast around him.
EDGE Preston Smith endured a regression in 2020 after posting a 12-sack campaign the previous year. He might end up being a cap casualty, but the Packers would still like to pair a premier pass-rusher along with Za’Darious Smith.
Watt could help do that in a big way.
But parting ways with Preston Smith won’t get the job done in of itself. The Packers would have to let a number of pending free agents walk, engineer some additional cap space by cutting some key players and likely free up more money by restructuring Rodgers’ contract, as this article by Lombardi Ave’s Christian Borman pointed out.
As things stand now, Green Bay is over $28 million above the salary cap for 2021, so this would get tricky.
Yet the addition of Watt might be too enticing for the Packers to pass up, and he could be that final X-factor they need to get back to the Super Bowl.
J.J. Watt landing spot No. 1: Pittsburgh Steelers
Almost immediately after news broke the Texans were parting ways with J.J. Watt, thoughts of him joining his two brothers, EDGE T.J. Watt and fullback Derek Watt, with the Pittsburgh Steelers surfaced.
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Unlike the Packers and Seahawks, the Steelers boasted the NFL’s No. 3-ranked scoring defense, and no team registered more sacks than their 56. While Pittsburgh had its share of offensive problems over the course of 2020, there was little questioning the defense’s abilities to carry the team all the way to an impressive 12-4 record and first-place finish within the AFC North.
Now, all that’s needed to keep that defense at an elite level is some additional pass-rushing depth. It never hurts.
There is a problem, however, with cap space. It’s even worse than in Green Bay, as the Steelers are over $30 million above the cap. Some of that might be relieved if veteran quarterback Ben Roethlisberger finally decides to retire, which would open up a slew of question marks on the offensive side of the ball heading into 2021.
Yet a J.J. Watt-included defense could be enough to overcome the loss of someone like Roethlisberger anyway, and one has to figure Watt would jump at the opportunity to play with his brothers on a team still likely to be back in the playoff dance regardless of Roethlisberger’s decision this offseason.