JJ Watt has been retired for a year now, though he admitted that he had thoughts of coming back during the 2023 season.
More interestingly, there were actually two teams that Watt considered joining when he was contemplating unretirement: the Pittsburgh Steelers and Houston Texans.
Of course it’s not a surprise why Watt would look at Houston. With the team thriving with CJ Stroud at quarterback, there was reason to believe that they could contend. Watt, given his history with the team and experience, could be a huge addition to the defense.
As for the Steelers, the allure of playing alongside his brother TJ Watt was really tempting for JJ. In fact, when he visited Pittsburgh and watched his brother get ready for the game, the elder Watt really had the itch to play again. Fortunately for him, that desire soon subsided. “When I went to Pittsburgh and visited T.J. and watched him get ready for the game, that was hands down the moment where I was like, ‘This is the first time I definitely miss playing,’” Watt revealed“I felt all those emotions before the game, and then the next morning [T.J.] woke up all sore and bruised up, has to get treatment. And I popped up, went for a nice walk, and got a coffee.”
It would have been interesting to see Watt make a return and either potentially help the Texans’ defense or play alongside his brother. At the end of the day, however, Watt is at peace with his decision.
