JJ Watt’s time as a free agent seems to be drawing to a close with three teams emerging as his potential future employers. The front runners to sign Watt are the Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans, per NFL Insider John ClaytonWhile these clubs are considered the clubhouse leaders to land Watt, it seems he has had a healthy market. According to Dianna Russini from ESPNWatt has received several offers from teams. The best offer, per Russini, would pay him between $ 15-16 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.
The Titans are a bit of a surprising finalist, given Watt’s ties to the Pittsburgh Steelers (his brothers play there), and Watt is reportedly “seriously considering” the Cleveland Browns last 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.
The free agency saga appears to be ending for Watt, with three teams that would be ideal choices for the future Hall of Famer.