He’s still an above average player, and could probably still flash dominance under better circumstances, but that’s not going to happen here. He deserves much better.
He's 31, coming off some injuries that required a lot of time off and he's on the tail end of a huge contract that he signed in 2014 (iirc). Even fully healthy, I don't think you can expect a DE to be that good for the entirety of the contract. And when you compare Watt to players like Aaron Donald or either Bosa brother and what they've done this season, I think Watt is still on their level. Even at his age, even with the injury history. Is Watt now the same as he was when he was in his prime? Of course not. But Watt is still one of the best defensive players in the game, despite not being "elite."
Lol he can't carry this team solely on his defense. Even in his prime he wasn't destroying teams by himself. For whatever reason Watt and the rest of the defense aren't coordinated enough to stop the run and then some.
Sweet hot take. Curious if it was the back problems, major bone fracture or simple Father Time that made one come to the conclusion that JJ can not longer be one of the most dominant defensive players to ever play in the nfl on a down in and down out basis. Pray tell us this insightful analysis.
He deserves a chance to win somewhere else (NFC) since we will be rebuilding with Watson for the next year or two. Might as well see what we can get from him to restock the draft pantry.
If JJ is released he will go somewhere and absolutely crush for 1-2 seasons and then hang it up. Predictably that 1-2 seasons elsewhere will likely coincide with him hanging a big fat L on the Texans.
someone desperate with title hopes will give you a good return like Seattle did with Brown. That frees up around 15 mil in the near future. Johnson cancels out another 11 million. You're going to have to keep cooks and pay fuller just for Deshaun's sanity. Draft a wide receiver with the 2nd round pick you acquired for Watt. Cut Murray, Make Ronnie the other safety. Sign Conley, as any other CB in free agency would be way expensive. Cut Hargreaves pray Reid becomes a good nickel Cb. Cobb's contract can be thrown away by the end of next season, another 8 million. Fulton, another 7 million, Kalemente 4 million. Texans will be fine, you can clear up 35+ million by the end of 2121. It's not all gloom and doom. But unfortunate we will have to say goodbye to the naturalized Tejano in Watt. He'll always have the keys to this city. We can play the End of The Road song by boyzII Men and if the Green Bay packers get him, they can play PDiddy's I'm coming home. Win Win for all fan bases.
Texans will restructure JJ's contract....extend him for 2 years.....lower his cap number. That's how you do it without releasing him.
The Packers are contenders. We should try to pry as much value from them as possible for JJ. We'd be doing jj a favor too. Would GB give up a 2nd?
JJ will always be a Texans icon--3 DPOY is just remarkable. He's given his body and his soul to Houston, and deserves a chance to win a SB before he's done. Personally, I'd like to see him go to GB (back home) to finish his career and make a run with AR. Really pains me to say this and agree with many on this thread, but its really now or never. Just don't think Easteregg should be negotiating trades for Houston legends.