Once cheese head, always cheese head. With Texans recently granting JJ Watt his franchise release after a decade in Houston, NFL competitors are apparently not wasting their time trying to lure the star star into his club. Watt reportedly has about a dozen teams competing for his services and one more has been revealed. According to Bill Huber de Sports illustrated, the Green Bay Packers are among the many who have expressed an interest in signing an agreement with Watt.
Although noteworthy, Green Bay’s interest is hardly a surprise. They are a team on the verge of a Super Bowl spot – having achieved the NFC championship in the past two seasons – and could use a talent like Watt in their first seven places to put them on top. Nor does it detract from the fact that Watt has tremendous ties to the organization, being a native of Pewaukee, Wisconsin, who excelled at the University of Wisconsin. Given that the Packers are your childhood team and a legitimate competitor in the NFC, it seems logical that the interest is mutual.
Even if there is interest from both sides, however, money can end up being the main obstacle. The Packers managed to free up about $ 8.3 million in limit space thanks to the left tackle David Bakhtiari restructuring his contract, but the club still needs to make a few more moves to stay below whatever the final number of the salary limit ends up being. for this year. Watt is not a newcomer – he will be 32 next month – but he must still get a decent contract with several contending clubs. If that’s the case, Green Bay could end up taking the price out of the Watt draw outside of a significant discount in his hometown.
Unlike most free agents in this off-season, Watt does not have to wait until the start of the new league year in mid-March to officially join a club. As soon as he can and is willing, he can put the pen on paper on the deal, which means that this free agent trip can end sooner than most.
Watt, three-time defensive player of the year, totaled 52 tackles, 17 hitting center backs, five tacks and two forced fumbles, plus an interception in 16 games played with the Texans last season. Although he may not be the more than 20 sack player he was at the beginning of his career, he is still clearly a lethal piece that would be a welcome addition to the Packers – or anyone else – facing seven in 2021.