The Houston Texans’ defensive side, JJ Watt, has been one of the NFL’s top pass-rushers for the past decade. Former number 11 in the 2011 NFL Draft took the NFL in two different sacks and recorded 101 sacks in 127 career games. With the franchise evolving and Watt turning 32 in the next off-season, however, his future with the Texans – and his contract – is not guaranteed.
On Thursday, Watt was asked if he sees himself playing for the Texans in 2021. His response was not exactly encouraging.
“There are a lot of unknowns, so we’ll see what happens,” said Watt, via Aaron Reiss from The Athletic. “I no longer have guarantees in my contract, so something has to happen one way or the other.”
In September 2014, Watt signed a six-year extension worth up to $ 100 million with Texans. Watt will enter the last year of his contract in 2021 and is expected to earn $ 17,500,000 in base salary, according to Spotrac. More importantly, however, Texans would not have to deal with any kind of dead limit if they separated from him. As he said, there are no guarantees in your contract.
In May of this off-season, Watt said he would not ask Texans to extend his contract. He said he did not think it was “necessary” and that he would not demand anything because “it would be the wrong move”.
Watt is the best player in the history of the Texans franchise, with accolades like five top team All-Pro selections, five Pro Bowl selections and three years as NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He has been the heart and soul of this defense in good times and bad. After Sunday’s embarrassing defeat to Cincinnati Bengals, for example, Watt released a lengthy commentary on players who don’t mind winning, while also apologizing to Texan fans for the club’s “treacherous” season.
Watt is only two years from a 16 sack season, but his game dropped noticeably in 2020. He recorded 49 tackles combined in 15 games, which is likely to be the lowest total of his career in a season in which he played double-digit games , and registered only five bags. With a new head coach and a new general manager on the way in Houston, Watt’s situation certainly deserves attention.