Chris Long Jokes About Possibility Of J.J. Watt Landing With Eagles

Chris Long believes Philadelphia fans who hope to see J.J. Watt in an Eagles uniform shouldn’t get their hopes up.

Watt currently is free to sign with any team across the league after being released by the Houston Texans last week. Long, a member of the Super Bowl LII-winning team in Philadelphia, believes the Eagles don’t have any chance of landing the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

“I love Philly fans. … I had some Philly fans taking it personally. I’m like, ‘Listen, you’re not even in the conversation,’ ” Long said on the “Green Light with Chris Long” podcast, as transcribed by Radio.com. “It’s a burning building in Philly right now. That’s not to say that they can’t put it out, but do you think a Hall of Famer is gonna run from one burning building to the next burning building? He’s not doing this to be a mentor to guys in struggling programs, he wants to win.” 

The Eagles definitely are not in a desirable spot right now. Philadelphia appears to be in search of a trade for Carson Wentz, the second overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. The Eagles reportedly have yet to yield a satisfactory offer for the veteran quarterback, and the reported frontrunner in the Wentz sweepstakes isn’t the 28-year-old’s preferred team. Philly also will enter the 2021 season with a first-year head coach.

So yeah, we probably can disregard the City of Brotherly Love as a potential landing spot for Watt. The Eagles were not listed among the six teams reportedly “most interested” in Watt, all of whom reached the playoffs this past season.

It’s unknown which team is leading the pack in the mission to land the future Hall of Fame defensive end. But Watt reportedly is “strongly considering” joining the Cleveland Browns on the open market.