Getty Image / Thearon W. Henderson
JJ Watt dominated the NFL for over a decade. The Wisconsin Badger alum is sure to go into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot.
JJ Watt was drafted by the Houston Texans in 2011 with the 11th pick in a spot many thought was a reach. But, he was an instant success, and in year two he was NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He would go on to win DPOY two more times in the next three years.
He continued to be one of the league’s best players for many years with the Houston Texans, before going over to the Arizona Cardinals prior to the 2021 season. During last season, he announced the 2022 season would be his last as an NFL player. JJ Watt retired with 114.5 sacks and a remarkable 70 pass deflections, as he was always getting his hands up in throwing lanes.
Recently, he was in the news for announcing that he was joining the ownership of Burnley Football Club, who will be promoted back to the Premier League next season after clinching a top-two finish in the English Championship.
We’re already winning over fans in droves @BurnleyOfficial
Found one lad in Wisconsin who thinks he’s Ashley Barnes…@_TJWatt
🤦🏼♂️🤦🏼♂️🤦🏼♂️#UTC
(“me me me me” had me rolling 🤣🤣) pic.twitter.com/ExhfDXxn8O
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) May 3, 2023
Still, JJ Watt is only 34, and has been effective at times as a player the last two years. Could he return? Here is Pro Football Talk with what Watt said when asked if he will miss the game and consider coming back.
“I sit here, and I watch these [offseason] practices that these guys are going back to and I see the Instagram posts that these teams are putting out of them running through the bags and them doing the drills, and all I think to myself is, ‘I’m so glad I don’t have to be out there chasing those guys around and catch them,’” Watt told SiriusXM NFL Radio on Wednesday. “I haven’t run since the final game of the season, so that San Francisco game was the last time that I’ve run. I still lift. I still workout. But cardio has kind of taken a bit of a backseat. So, I don’t think I’m going to have any problems because it’s more of a matter of physically being able to do it and wanting to do it, and I don’t.
“I’m very at peace with my decision. I’m very at peace with how it all went down and how it all ended, and I don’t think I’m going to have any because I physically won’t be able to. I’m a guy who if I’m going to do it, I’m going to go out there to try and be the absolute best, and I know now that I’m not training that way; I’m not treating my body that way. So, I’m not going to put myself in a situation where I’m going to look like a fool either.”
Sounds like JJ Watt is pretty content with his millions and his young family. More power to him.