J.J. Watt has been a free agent for 10 days — and needs at least a little more time than that to pick his next destination. Watt, being released before the start of free agency, can sign with any team at any time and he has plenty of interested suitors. There’s one problem: Watt isn’t ready to pick his next team.
Watt addressed a tweet regarding when he was going to sign. The All-Pro defensive lineman and future Hall of Famer used his struggles with DoorDash as an example of how hard it’s been to pick his next employer.
“I scroll through DoorDash for like an hour before I pick a restaurant man,” Watt said on Twitter regarding his free agency. “You’re gonna have to give me a second to choose a new team and city.”
A dozen teams are reportedly interested in signing Watt, with the Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns among the suitors. DeAndre Hopkins, Watt’s former teammate with the Houston Texans, is trying to recruit him to the Arizona Cardinals.
Watt played all 16 games this past season and finished with just five sacks, 17 quarterback hits, two forced fumbles, and 29 pressures. He has just 26.5 sacks over the past five seasons, but is a three-time Defensive Player of the Year — which is tied for the most 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 go with 531 total tackles, 61 passes defensed and 16 fumble recoveries. Watt is also the only player in NFL history with 20-plus sacks and 10-plus passes defensed in the same season (2012 and 2014), and is tied for fifth among defensive linemen in league history with six regular-season touchdowns. He’s also the fourth-fastest player in NFL history to reach 100 sacks.
Having many teams interested in Watt makes his decision much harder. There’s no need for him to rush and find a franchise where he wishes to spend the rest of his career.
