J.J. Watt FOXBORO, MA – SEPTEMBER 24: J.J. Watt #99 of the Houston Texans reacts during the second quarter of a game against the New England Patriots during a game at Gillette Stadium on September 24, 2017 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
ArticlesCBSFeaturedNFLBy Chris Novak on

Is J.J. Watt plotting a return to the National Football League? The former three-time Defensive Player of the Year won’t rule it out.

Watt, who joined The NFL Today on CBS this past season, hasn’t played competitive football since 2022. But despite that yearlong hiatus, Watt didn’t rule out the possibility that he could return to the Houston Texans.

But there is a catch. Watt would only do it if it were absolutely necessary.

Watt addressed the media over the weekend at his annual charity softball game down in Houston, Texans. He refused to say he would rule a return out entirely but made sure to note that line in the sand.

Robert O’Neill of Awful Announcing wrote that Watt said, “I told DeMeco [Ryans] last year: ‘Don’t call unless you absolutely need it, but, if you do ever call, I’ll be there.’ And he knows not to call unless he absolutely needs it.”

Granted, it’s probably unlikely that the phone call’s ever made and that Watt would suit up again. Much like Tom Brady, though, the deliberation makes it at least intriguing on the surface.

Watt is one of the NFL’s greatest defensive players ever. Drated out of Wisconsin in 2011, he starred with the Texans and was a dominant force on the defensive line for a decade. He won the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year award three times. That feat has been accomplished by only three men: Watt, Aaron Donald, and Lawrence Taylor. That’s good company to be in.

The sports world had much to say about this surprising development.

 

[Awful Announcing]

About Chris Novak

Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022

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