J.J. Watt won’t be able to officially sign with a new team until next month when the new NFL year begins.
The three-time Defensive Player of the Year apparently isn’t wasting any time surveying his options, however.
Watt, who was released by the Texans last week after 10 seasons in Houston, is “strongly considering” the Browns as a potential landing spot, according to Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot.
“The two biggest things? Money and a potential Super Bowl,” she wrote. “What’s more, they have a strong supporting cast and a positive environment. Check, check, check, and check.”
Cleveland was among the six teams Peter King on Monday pegged as the “most interested” in Watt. That list also includes the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts and Green Bay Packers.
Of those teams, Watt has clear ties to the Titans and Packers. The 31-year-old has played for Tennessee head coach Mike Vrabel, who served on the Texans coaching staff for four seasons before landing in Nashville. It’s also worth considering Watt is a Wisconsin native who played collegiately for the Badgers, so a homecoming to team up with Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay could be appealing to the five-time first-team All-Pro.
It will be interesting to see whether money or the opportunity to legitimately compete for a Lombardi Trophy ranks higher on Watt’s list of priorities. The future Hall of Famer was set to make $17.5 million in his last season with the Texans, and one has to imagine he’s not keen on taking a significant pay cut. That said, a few of the top expected contenders for Super Bowl LVI currently aren’t in favorable salary-cap situations.
The clock seemingly is ticking on Watt’s NFL tenure, so one could argue his impending free-agent decision will be the most important of his career to date.
