Tampa Bay Buccaneers Have Second-Best Odds to Land J.J. Watt
After spending 10 years with the Houston Texans, defensive end J.J. Watt will be playing for a new NFL team come next season.
Granting his request, the Texans officially released Watt on Friday marking the end of an era for the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Fresh off a Super Bowl victory, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers find themselves with a flurry of players set to become free agents and it's well-known how hard it is to keep a team together following a championship season.
With news of Watt becoming a free agent, many in the football world quickly pointed to the Bucs as a potential landing spot for him. The oddsmakers in Vegas think so too.
According to BetOnline.ag, the Bucs have the second-best odds to become Watts' next team, behind only the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tampa Bay is listed in front of the Baltimore Ravens and the Green Bay Packers, who round out the top four.
Other teams to potentially watch out for in the free agency race for Watt include the Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Rams, and New England Patriots along with a handful of other teams across the league, according to BetOnline.
J.J.'s brother T.J. Watt plays in Pittsburgh so it makes a lot of sense for him to want to likely finish his career with family up north. T.J. Watt has already begun recruiting his brother to play for the Steelers.
While the Steelers may be the odds-on favorite to the older Watt brother, he might see an opportunity in Tampa Bay to finally win a Super Bowl.
Bucs' quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bruce Arians have both made it clear they are intending to return for another season to repeat as champions. Behind an impressive performance from Brady and the Bucs' defense, Tampa Bay held Kansas City to no touchdowns winning Super Bowl LV 31-9 over the Chiefs.
In the post-game press conference, Arians dispelled any rumors that he would retire now that the Bucs have won Super Bowl LV.
"No, I ain't going anywhere," Arians said when asked if he plans on retiring after capturing an elusive championship. "I'm coming back to try to win two, and we'll see after that."
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Could Tampa Bay's intentions to repeat as champs lure Watt to the Bucs? Possibly. Whatever is left in the tank for Watt could certainly add to the strength of Tampa Bay's pass-rush that caused so many issues for Chiefs' quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl.
A five-time Pro Bowl selection and AP First-Team All-Pro (2012-15, 2018), Watt set franchise records in sacks (101.0), tackles for loss (172), quarterback hits (281), and forced fumbles (25) to go along with 531 total tackles, 61 passes defended and 16 fumble recoveries.
Watt is one of only three players in NFL history to win at least three AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year Awards, doing so in 2012 and 2014-15.
