Count the Green Bay Packers among the teams interested in acquiring defensive lineman JJ Watt, who was released by the Houston Texans on Friday.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Bill Huber, the Packers are one of about a dozen teams already interested in Watt.
The fit looks almost perfect on both sides. The Packers could certainly use a versatile, disruptive defensive lineman like Watt to bolster the defensive front and create a championship-level pass rush. Watt, a Wisconsin resident, would get the chance to chase a Super Bowl with Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, who have won 26 regular season games since 2019 and progressed to the NFC title game each of the last two seasons.
It is possible that Watt is the last piece of the Super Bowl puzzle for the Packers. And it is almost certain that Watt has some interest in joining the Packers, the team he grew up for.
The financial side is where linking gets tricky. Watt appears to be a coveted player in the open market as expected, and the Packers still need to shed more than $ 20 million to get below the projected 2021 salary ceiling, even after restructuring David Bakhtiari’s deal for space free.
GM Brian Gutekunst has plenty of ways to shed more cap space and free up enough room for Watt, but a few more moves are needed.
The benefits of adding Watt appear to outweigh the risks, although it should be borne in mind that the former Badgers star will turn 32 next month and has missed large chunks of three seasons with serious injuries since 2016.