CLEVELAND, Ohio – NFL Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski can meet with JJ Watt, three times NFL Defense Player of the Year, in his squad this season.
Launched by the Texans on Friday, Watt is seriously considering the Browns as one of his options because they have a lot of what he wants, sources told cleveland.com.
The two biggest things? Money and a potential Super Bowl. Furthermore, they have a strong supportive cast and a positive environment. Check, check, check and check.
Coming out of a frustrating 4-12 season, Watt wants to play for a Super Bowl contender, and the Browns mark that important box. They reached Final 8 last season, losing to current Super Bowl champion Chiefs 22 to 17 in the AFC split round.
Watt, 32, also wants to get his market value, and the Browns have the upper limit to pay it. They are in tenth place in the NFL, with about $ 21.7 million in space. Watt was supposed to earn $ 17.5 million in 2021 and will probably be looking for something at that amount.
The Browns were prepared to pay Jadeveon Clowney the last off-season, making him a one-year offer higher than any other team and a very competitive multi-year offer.
Watt, a five-time All-Pro starter, certainly won’t come cheap, but it would be worth it if he could take the Browns to the top and enter the elusive Super Bowl.
Many of the teams interested in Watt are without a cap and will not be able to remove it. Steelers, which already has Watt’s two brothers, TJ and Derek Watt, is currently about $ 30 million over the limit. Ben Roethlisberger said he will restructure his contract to reduce his $ 41.5 million limit reached in 2021, but they will likely have to take further steps to make it happen.
Watt was thrilled with Bucs QB Tom Brady, who just won his seventh Super Bowl, and would undoubtedly love to join him in Tampa, where the Bucs are in 11th place in the competition, with about $ 14.8 million remaining, from according to overthecap.com.
“Tom is unbelievable. It’s amazing what he did. I don’t think people really understand or appreciate or can imagine how insanely difficult this is, ”said Watt on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. “The guy is just, he is the best ever”
It is rumored that he would also love to go back to Green Bay and play Aaron Rodgers, but the Packers are also over the limit by about $ 19 million. Other teams he is related to are also having limit problems, including the Titans (more than $ 3 million), the Bills (more than $ 322,851) and the Bears (more than $ 191,825).
In addition to the Browns’ current $ 21.7 million, they can free up more space for the limit, depending on the moves on call this season.
But they wasted no time in calling Watt representatives on Friday and can make a competitive offer and an attractive presentation.
“He is a unique player, because his combination of size, strength, athleticism, speed and power is really unmatched,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said of Watt in November, before the Browns beat Texans 10-7 in strong winds at FirstEnergy Stadium on November 15. “He raises those long arms and hits balls in the air. He’s a very, very disturbing player. It lines up throughout the formation, so you can’t type where it will be. I have a lot of respect for what he did in his career ”.
Watt, who was constantly paired in 2020 and with just five bags, would also have the benefit of signing Myles Garrett, who will divert his attention and free him to make moves. In defense of Joe Woods, he would probably be back in double-digit bags by 2021.
“[Garrett’s] obviously having a great year so far, ” Watt said before his meeting in November. “I hope he doesn’t play well on Sunday. That is the goal for us. The guy is a great player. He has speed. He has speed and strength. He has all the tools you need and is obviously playing at an extremely high level. “
Supporting the team’s cast and culture are also two major priorities for Watt, the sources say, and the Browns meet both criteria. The club will strengthen their defense this off-season, and players love to play for Stefanski and the rest of his team. The vibe in Cleveland is good, and Watt will get a good report from Garrett and others.
His frustration with the culture lost in Houston boiled over after a 37-31 loss to Bengals in week 16, and it was written on the wall that he wanted to leave.
“We are professional athletes getting a lot of money,” Watt told reporters after the game. “If you can’t get in and work on the building, go to the practice field and work hard, do your elevators and do what you should be doing, you shouldn’t be here. This is a job. We are getting a lot of money.
“There are a lot of people who watch us and invest their time and money in buying our t-shirts and buying a lot of s —, and they care about that. They care every week. We are in week 16 and we are from 4 to 11, and there are fans who watch this game, who show up at the stadium who put time and energy and effort and care about it. So, if you can’t go there and you can’t work out, you can’t get there on time, you can’t practice, you can’t want to go there and win, you shouldn’t be here. Because this is a privilege. It’s the best job in the world. You can go out and play a game. And if you don’t care enough, even at week 17, even when you’re crap, when you’re between 4 and 11 years old. If you don’t care enough to go out there and give everything you have and try your best, that’s bullshit … ”
Watt will find the opposite in Cleveland, where Stefanski changed the culture to responsibility and victory in one season.
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