J.J. Watt surprised many with his retirement announcement on Tuesday.
Add Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury to that list. Kingsbury told the media Wednesday he had “no idea” the 33-year-old Watt planned to announce his retirement.
“I’m happy for him, seems like he’s in a really good place,” Kingsbury said (via Bo Brack). “We had no idea that was coming.
“What a tremendous player and person, and an all-time great in this league. … I think it’s just a special time for him, the organization and the entire NFL to kind of celebrate him these last two weeks.”
Kliff Kingsbury says he didn’t know J.J. Watt was going to announce his retirement on Tuesday pic.twitter.com/PW68c3e2ay
— Bo Brack (@BoBrack) December 28, 2022
Really, no one saw Watt’s retirement coming. He’s obviously no longer the former three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year. But he’s still playing at a high level, leading the Cardinals in sacks (9.5) and tackles for loss (14).
Normally, players will coordinate their retirement with their team. For players of Watt’s stature, there’s always a celebration of some sort before the player’s final home game. But unfortunately, the Cardinals’ final two games are on the road.
Perhaps Watt made this decision on the spur of the moment. There’s speculation it might have been tied to his health scare in late September, in which he said his heart had to be shocked back into rhythm after an incident of atrial fibrillation. According to the American Heart Association, “anxiety, distress and depression are common among people with AFib.” It can totally change a person’s outlook on life.
Pro Football Talk speculated that Watt may have announced his retirement because he was worried that if he told the team, someone would leak the information. Someone in the organization reportedly leaked his AFib incident to the media, forcing him to make the news public.
Regardless of why Watt chose not to notify the Cardinals, we should all just take time to appreciate his phenomenal career these last two games.
[Bo Brack]
