All three Watt brothers could’ve been on the same team if JJ Watt had taken his talents to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
After requesting and getting his release from the Houston Texans back in 2021, J.J. Watt joined the Cardinals, but he almost took his talents to another team before hanging it up, revealing on Chris Long’s “Green Light” podcast that he considered signing with the Steelers to play alongside his brothers.
However, he had a very good reason not to do so.
“They were (a possibility),” Watt said, per Sports Illustrated, confirming Pittsburgh was a suitor during his 2021 free agency. “It certainly would have been awesome to play with my brothers, but T.J. was also going through (his) contract situation there, so the last thing I wanted to do was come in and take any money away from his contract.”
T.J. Watt spent much of the 2021 offseason sitting out practice while negotiating a long-term deal with the Steelers. He went on to sign a four-year, $112 million extension as he briefly became the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history. His brother, Derek, a fullback, was also on the Steelers from 2020-2022.
JJ Watt would go on to ink a two-year, $28M deal with the Cardinals, and played out that contract before retiring this offseason and joining CBS Sports as an NFL studio analyst. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year will officially be inducted into the Houston Texans Ring of Honor during the team’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, Oct. 1st.
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Returning to full health, he remained highly productive with 12.5 sacks in his last season in the league. Not a bad way to go out.
During his decade with the Texans, Watt set the franchise record for sacks and his 101.0 sacks were the second-most in the NFL during that span.
