Kliff Kingsbury Proves He Can Recruit After All
JJ Watt's free agency has been the biggest story in the NFL over the last few weeks since he and the Houston Texans mutually parted ways to start the offseason. Watt has been tweeting poems and lyrics as rumors swirled around his potential destinations.
The Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Buffalo Bills were the teams listed most often with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Bucs as outliers because of the Super Bowl chances. The Arizona Cardinals were a distant thought in most people's minds.
Watt's first foray into free agency certainly opened his eyes to the process and frustrated him as he saw quotes attributed to him that weren't real or true. There were even screenshots of peleton bike. He tweeted he didn't even have a bike.
Shortly after, he tweeted this:
ESPN's Adam Schefter confirmed it meant what we all thought it meant.
And Ian Rapoport confirmed the money side of the deal as $23 million guaranteed and $31 million potentially over two seasons.
Watt will reunite with Vance Joseph, the Cardinals' defensive coordinator, who was the Texans' defensive backs coach during Watt's first three seasons in Houston and former teammate DeAndre Hopkins who was traded to Arizona last offseason.
In Arizona, Watt will be paired with fellow pass-rusher Chandler Jones, who leads the NFL in sacks since he was drafted in the first round in 2012 with 97. Second, during that span, is Watt with 95.5. That's a formidable duo.
Watt still has some fire left in the tank ranking 15th in pass rush win rate last season out of nearly 120 qualified pass rushers, but he's only played a full season twice since 2015. He's a former NFL Defensive Player of the Year, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, and five-time first-team All-Pro.
He joins former Red Raider quarterback and head coach Kliff Kingsbury in Arizona.
Expensive Airbnb Stays in Lubbock, Texas