Fans of every NFL team have fallen in love with J.J. Watt over the years. A mere mention of his name brings to mind a warrior in the trenches with blood rolling down his face as he relentlessly pursues the opposing team’s quarterback. However, it sounds as though the defensive lineman may have played his final snap with the Houston Texans and could be looking for a new team to call home.
Watt has one year left on his contract with Houston and could be a candidate for a trade. His career with the Texans is an impressive one, accumulating 101 sacks in 128 games played over his ten seasons while earning five All-Pro nods and three AP Defensive Player of the Year awards.
The Texans are a sinking ship and their organization is under heavy fire from fans and experts alike for making some ridiculous trades as well as questionable hires and poor decisions over the recent years. There are plenty of reasons the defensive end would want to give things a try with another NFL team and NFL Network’s James Palmer is reporting that the feeling about Watt is that he has played his final snap with Houston and will move on this offseason.
The belief with teammates and coaches I’ve spoken to is that Watt has played his last game as a Texan. A few told me that was the mood in the locker room after their final game. https://t.co/vBsrflwyf4
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) January 30, 2021
How much should the Minnesota Vikings pursue J.J. Watt?
On paper, J.J. Watt is an amazing fit for the Minnesota Vikings. Not only would he help to provide a strong pass rush for a team that only had 23 sacks during the 2020 NFL season and will be looking for help getting after the quarterback going forward.
Watt is also a high-character player who would likely fit into the team’s culture almost instantly. That means the team will likely inquire about his services to see what it would take to get him in a purple and gold uniform.
This year, the Wisconsin native will turn 32 years old and only recorded five or fewer sacks in each of the last two seasons. To put that in perspective, five sacks ties the best mark for quarterback takedowns by any Vikings player in 2020 and was done by Yannick Ngakoue in just six games (who is no longer with the team).
The salary cap presents a major issue. As it stands, Spotrac projects that Minnesota is approximately $14.6 million over the estimated 2021 salary cap and would need to move some money around if they want to have a chance at signing the high-profile pass rusher. The final year of Watt’s six-year contract worth over $100 million sees him with a salary cap hit of $17.5 million.
Minnesota is also missing their second-round draft pick due to the Ngakoue trade and needs some picks to reload at other positions. The team will need to fill holes on both sides of the ball with inexpensive free agents or rookies to round out the roster even if they are able to maneuver their way under the cap for the year and most of those players will come from the draft.
6 free agents the Vikings need to re-sign for the 2021 season
The Minnesota Vikings would be smart to bring these six free agents back to the team for the 2021 season based on their play and potential.
Since the Minnesota Vikings are in salary cap hell and are coming off a seven-win season, it seems highly unlikely that J.J. Watt will end up in the Land of 10,000 Lakes this offseason, but it does hurt to daydream about adding a future Pro Football Hall of Fame player to the team’s defense.