JJ Watt’s free agency is going wild and teams seem to be lining up to pass the star on to a deal. While Watt has a number of clubs competing for his services, NFL Insider John Clayton reports that the Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans are seen as the current front runners to become the former Defensive Player of the Year. While those three teams are currently considered the clubhouse leaders, Clayton notes the Browns and Raiders among the many teams that still exist the sweepstakes. According to Dianna Russini from ESPNWatt has received several offers from teams. The best offer, per Russian, would pay him between $ 15 and 16 million a year.
Watt’s interest in the Packers comes as no surprise, given that he played for the University of Wisconsin and is a resident of Pewaukee, Wisconsin – and a growing fan of Packers. The Packers have made it to the last two NFC Championship Games and could use some help on a line of defense that has recorded 82 sacks in the past two seasons (ranked eighth in the NFL). Adding a Watts caliber player could be enough to get Green Bay to the Super Bowl in a loaded NFC.
The Bills and Watt have shown mutual interest and Buffalo would be a perfect fit for the three-time defensive player of the year. Buffalo plays four linemen, who play towards Watts strengths on the defensive line. Buffalo is another team that reached its championship game at the conference last season, setting a franchise record with 13 regular season wins. The Bills finished with just 38 sacks last season, tied for 15th place in the NFL, so adding Watt would be a big boost to the pass rush.
It’s a bit of a surprise to see the Titans seen as Watt’s current leader, given his ties to the Pittsburgh Steelers (his brothers play there) and Watt has reportedly considered the Cleveland Browns ‘seriously’ over the past week. Tennessee finished with just 19 sacks last season, which was the third lowest in the NFL, but Watt has a connection with much of the coaching staff.
Titans head coach Mike Vrabel was with Watt in Houston for four seasons, including his first two as a linebackers coach – when Watt won his first two Defensive Player of the Year awards. Titans defensive coordinator, Shane Bowen, was a defensive assistant with the Texans in 2016 and 2017, which made Watt more familiar with the defense system.
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Watt played all 16 games last season, finishing with just five sacks, 17 quarterback hits, two forced fumbles, and 29 tensions. He’s only had 26.5 sacks in the past five seasons, but his three Defensive Player of the Year awards are the most even in NFL history with Lawrence Taylor and Aaron Donald.
Watt set Texans’ franchise records in sacks (101.0), tackles for loss (172), quarterback hits (282) and forced fumbles (25) to call with 531 total tackles, 61 passes defended and 16 fumble -recovery. Watt is also the only player in NFL history with 20-plus sacks and 10-plus passes defended in the same season (2012 and 2014), and is ranked fifth among defensive linemen in the history of the league with six regular season touchdowns. He is also the fourth fastest player in NFL history to reach 100 sacks.