The J.J. Watt sweepstakes is starting to heat up. ESPN’s Dianna Russini reports that the three-time Defensive Player of the Year has “received contract offers from multiple teams.” The most lucrative offer is believed to be in the $15MM to $16MM range, per Russini.
A handful of teams have continually been connected to Watt, including the Cleveland Browns. ESPN’s report notes that it’s uncertain if the Browns are one of the squads that have submitted an offer to the veteran pass rusher. Cleveland is armed with more than $30MM in cap space and was previously deemed a legitimate threat to sign Watt.
The Bills, Packers, and Titans have also been listed as potential landing spots for the 31-year-old. Each of those three teams currently remain over the cap, so they’ve got some financial hurdles to overcome before they could definitively sign Watt to a lucrative contract. The Titans already started with some cap-saving movies, including their reported release of wideout Adam Humphries from earlier today.
One team that apparently won’t be landing Watt is the Steelers. Earlier this week, veteran NFL reporter John Clayton said that Pittsburgh won’t be a landing spot for the former Texans standout.
Watt may be getting older, but that doesn’t mean he still can’t be productive in the right role. His five sacks in 2020 were his lowest total in a 16-game campaign (but a glass-half-full mentality would observe that a 16-game season is encouraging in and of itself). Plus, Watt graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 7 overall edge defender in 2020, with the advanced metrics site praising the veteran’s work against the run and pass.
Cap
I assumed he wanted to go to a winner. Sounds like he is going after the $$$
His list is down to the Packers Bills and Titans – all playoff teams, all Super Bowl contenders next year.
Besides the Titans. Cmon really?
Not sure what you mean by Cmon really… of those 3 teams , the Titans are the worst. Still a good team but Bills and Packers would have their way with the Titans.
How?
If he received a 15 million offer…which he hasn’t…he’d be a fool to turn it down. Nothing but asinine media fiction.
youre suggesting that said offer is not on the table anymore?
I’m suggesting a 15 million deal was never offered and it’s an agent or media narrative to gauge interest. And no….this isn’t Madden, teams don’t leave offers on the table ad infinitum.
You are correct. Only if it was short term deal.
More likely his agent is simply feeding stories to the lazy media for his own purposes.
I doubt he is getting any 15 million dollar offers especially when so many teams have limited or no cap space.
He cares about winning and the money. If he only cared about winning why not goto TB or KC.
Teams are pretty good at finding money when they need to, but all three of his preferred teams are in a tight financial position at the moment.
Green Bay: Currently $5 million over the cap
Tennesse: Currently $5 million under the cap
Bills: Currently $3 million under the cap
And don’t forget that these teams still have to sign their 2021 draft picks, meaning they need to find $20+ million for that as well.
And apparently the Packers are supposed to be considering a tag for Jones and letting Linsley walk. The former is just not a good idea, the latter is absurd. If they do let Linsley go and sign Watt for a significant amount, I would be pretty further disappointed in their regime. Watt of course is a legend who still will be a great addition to any team (the Packers included), but Linsley is their must have free agent right now.
Except they have a capable if not better option at C in Jenkins and a bevy of options at G. Letting Linsley test the market is a wise move.
If Jenkins goes to center, they then have a replacement to find at guard. Jenkins is a good player, but Linsley is currently the best center in the league. The Packers will likely be replacing their running back as is. Replacing their top interior lineman too is only wise if there is a clear plan for what to do with that extra money.
Jenkins will need time to get to his best at center, and again, will need a replacement at guard, and after all that, probably will not be as good as Linsley (at least not immediately). Bakhtiari may not come back 100% from his injury, either, so the line very well could look a lot different production-wise with Linsley gone. Given Gutekunst’s past history, I don’t see any reason to have faith in his ability to spend it wisely.
15mil over 3 years maybe. Not 15 a year
$16 million for one year, or two years?
If this is true, I don’t see it being any of the aforementioned teams with this offer. I would think he’s waiting on a preferred team to create enough cap room to make an offer.I would think he’d make up his mind before the legal tampering day. If he’s competing with the likes of Von Miller and some of the younger guys out there, teams may choose to go younger and cheaper….Hendrickson and Lawson come to mind
Agreed. Hendrickson and Lawson are both more pure pass rushers than run defenders, but they are much younger and may end up long term players for their new teams. A team looking for pure pass rushing help may consider them a better bet than Watt, especially if Watt demands a deal similar to the amount reported above. Watt would add legitimacy immediately to a new team though, along with proven skills that won’t need further development, unlike Lawson or Hendrickson.
A team like the Raiders would be benefit the most from Watt, as they need some sort of legitimacy along the defensive line (though this may jumble their edge rushers between the desire to start Crosby or Ferrell), but obviously they’re not the contender that Watt wants.
The Raiders example is really a hypothetical anyway-a team offering that contract to Watt would need to have an open starting spot at end, enough talent to contend, and lacking in established legitimacy on the roster. Otherwise, the amount offered would be lower, or they’d look at Hendrickson or Lawson. I think Tennessee is the closest to fitting that description, and then Buffalo. Plus, Tennessee gets the added benefit of bringing in a former rival.
If it’s about wining then go to the Chiefs for veterans minimum……….unless he is a financial moron he shouldn’t need another penny the rest of his life.