CLEVELAND, Ohio – JJ Watt has a chance of getting close to the $ 17.5 million he walked from in Houston, a report says.
ESPN’s Dianna Russini reported Thursday morning that Watt has received multiple offers, the best one being between $ 15 million and $ 16 million per year, according to sources.
She did not indicate which team offered so much. The Browns are one of many teams in the mix for Watt, and one of the only ones strongly tied to him with plenty of cap space. Other teams that have expressed or are believed to be interested include Green Bay, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, and Las Vegas. The cardinals have also said they will inquire about him.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler also reported Wednesday night that Watt has narrowed down his choices, but “nothing is imminent.”
As of Sunday, the Browns were still in the mix because they have a lot of things Watt is looking for, including Super Bowl potential, a good quarterback, a good supporting cast and money, league source told Cleveland.com.
Of the teams most connected to Watt to date, the Browns are ranked 14th in the NFL with $ 27.66 million in cap space for their 51 best players, according to spotrac.com, the Bills are 20th with $ 4.5 million, the Titans are 21st with $ 2.30 million, the Packers are 25th with $ 4.5 million above the limit, and the Steelers are $ 6.029 million above the limit.
The Steelers could soon free up enough cap space when they rerun Ben Roethlisberger’s contract, which team chairman Art Rooney II said in a statement on Tuesday is the “ next step ” in the process of coming back as their 2021 starter.
Roethlisberger, who expects a $ 15 million roster bonus on March 19, will earn $ 19 million in 2021, but has a cap of $ 41.25 million. If the two sides agree on a restructuring, which Roethlisberger has said he wants, the Steelers will have a chance to bolster its supporting cast with some new linemen and maybe a new running back.
However, it doesn’t mean they could afford TJ’s older brother and Derek Watt, who could earn between $ 12.5 million a year to $ 17.5 million a year depending on the duration and structure of the deal.
Teams are currently releasing players and restructuring contracts to get below the cap, which is expected to hit around $ 185 million by the time the league year begins March 17. The cap was raised from $ 175 million to $ 180 million last week.
If the Browns don’t land Watt, they’ll consider other top pass rushers like Von Miller, Carl Lawson, Trey Hendrickson, Leonard Williams and Haason Reddick to replace Olivier Vernon, who finished with nine sacks last season before he had a ruptured Achilles tendon in the season finale.
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