J.J. Watt Signs Two-Year, $31M Deal With Cardinals

Former Texans DE J.J. Watt announced he will sign with the Cardinals as his next team. 

source: me. pic.twitter.com/1Y6okQBUy5

— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) March 1, 2021

Ian Rapoport reports it’s a two-year deal worth $31 million, $23 million of which is guaranteed. 

The Cardinals weren’t getting a lot of play as a potential landing spot for Watt compared to other teams. But the presence of former teammate WR DeAndre Hopkins might have played a role in recruiting Watt to Arizona. 

The Bills, Titans and Packers were thought to be the leading contenders to land Watt, with the Browns supposedly still in the mix. 

But Watt lands out west with a Cardinals team that has major designs on competing in a loaded NFC West and had a huge need for an impact player on the defensive line. 

Watt was slated to make a base salary of $17.5 million in 2020 before being released by the Texans, so it looks like he’s got a good chance of still earning most of that figure. 

It’s worth mentioning that signing him to a contract won’t impact a team’s 2022 compensatory picks, given that he was released this offseason

Watt, 31, is a former first-round pick of the Texans back in 2011. He was in the final year of his eight-year, $108.88 million contract that includes $51.8 million guaranteed when he was released by the Texans.

Watt was owed a non-guaranteed base salary of $17.5 million in 2021. 

In 2020, Watt appeared in all 16 games for the Texans and recorded 52 tackles, five sacks, an interception, two forced fumbles, a recovery, a defensive touchdown, and seven passes defended.

We had him included in our Top 100 – 2021 Free Agents list.