Frequently Asked Questions About JJ Watt’s Possible Return

I give credit to JJ Watt for a lot of things. Clearly, he was an incredible footballer during his playing days (which may or may not resume at a stadium near you soon). Three Defensive Player of the Year awards says it all. He’s an extraordinary philanthropist, having raised his next million dollars for charity this weekend at his JJ Watt Charity Classic softball game.

Watt is also good at breaking news, and doing so in a way that never seems nefarious and certainly never feels criminal. The latest proof is, well, THIS article! This is the third time this week I’ve written several hundred words about Watt’s possible return to the Houston Texans.

Long story short, during his pregame press conference Saturday before the softball game, Watt said that if DeMeco Ryans needed him to play for the Texans, Watt would be there. Ryans fed the beast again Monday at the Texans’ charity golf tournament when he declared, “We need JJ now!” Meanwhile, Texans general manager Nick Caserio was asked about Watt’s return on the “Pat McAfee Show” last week, and he certainly didn’t shut it down!

That said, you may have some questions about it, so here are the most frequently asked questions about the “return of the Watt” that I received on my radio show on SportsRadio 610:

Is JJ a free agent or do the Cardinals still have his rights?
Watt is indeed a free agent. When he retired after the 2022 season, he was completing a two-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals. It is free and clear to sign with whoever wants to pay it.

What exactly would JJ’s role be?
Gone are the days of Watt playing three downs per series and 90 percent of the snaps in an NFL game. If he were to come to the Texans, it would be more likely that he would play around 25 snaps per game at most, and that would be mostly on passing plays. Think of a front four for the Texans, on third down, that looks like this – from left to right, Will Anderson, Denico Autry, JJ Watt and Danielle Hunter. Yuhuza!

What would this mean for his Hall of Fame timeline?
His five-year waiting period would be reset and he would likely enter no earlier than 2030, instead of 2028. An interesting byproduct of this would be Texans fans avoiding Patriots fans in Canton, like Tom Brady ( unless you reconsider your retirement). ) is expected to enter service in 2028.

Why would this season be different from last season, when JJ remained retired?
As my co-host Seth Payne, who himself played a decade in the NFL, pointed out on our radio show, it could very well be that Watt didn’t realize how much he would miss football l t year, so when the urge to play bit him last November (in his own words), he hadn’t been training to prepare to play football. Conversely, he probably thought all of 2024 that he might return to play and therefore prepared accordingly.

What is the plus/minus on a return date?
If he were to return, Watt would likely return midseason, probably around Week 9 or Week 10, but that’s just speculation. I’m convinced he has no desire to attend a Houston-based training camp.

Is it as simple as chasing the ring, and if so, who are the Texans’ main competitors?
There’s a good chance that if Watt returns, he’ll have a clear view of which teams are competing for something special. So I would say, ask me this question again after week 6 or week 7 when the rankings start to take shape.

Is it a coincidence that all of this appears after the softball game?
Not really. The game is one of the few off-season media availabilities for Watt, and I think there might be a method to the format of the game, where Watt and his retired teammates faced a team of Watt’s possible future teammates, current Texans. This gave Watt an afternoon to mingle with the current Texans and continue to form an opinion on whether to return.

Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6-10 a.m. weekdays. Also follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergaston Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.