J.J. Watt Praises DeMeco Ryans and 'Exciting' Texans Future
What a Houston homecoming it was for J.J. Watt.
After spending the last two seasons of his career with the Arizona Cardinals, the veteran defensive end was officially declared a future member of the Houston Texans' Ring of Honor on Monday.
Watt's induction is set for Oct. 1, during Houston's week four matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers when his younger brother, T.J., will be in attendance. The family bond was likely a driving factor for the selected date, as it has always played a big role in Watt's life.
But "family" isn't just blood for the 34-year-old. For him, Houston is also his family.
"I absolutely love Houston," Watt said. "I love the people, I love what we've built, I love the camaraderie, the chemistry and the family that it's become. Every time I step foot in the city of Houston, it feels like I'm surrounded by my family."
Perhaps Watt's bond with Houston is what made his Ring of Honor announcement so special, or why he's so highly regarded in the city. He is just the third member to be inducted, after all.
Either way, Watt is "proud to be a Texan" and now that he's back in Houston, he's excited to see what his former team is up to.
"Houston's in an incredibly exciting position right now," Watt said. "If you look at everything that/s transpired this offseason ... it really signifies the vision and the plans for where this organization wants to go and where it can go."
Watt's testament is shared by a slew of Texans fans. Adding a rising-star rookie quarterback along with a top edge rusher certainly made a statement. The latter seems to have made Watt more excited than any other addition and set the tone early for the kind of change Houston was looking for next season.
That change wasn't just player-focused, however. It centered around the vision brought by rookie coach DeMeco Ryans, who was hired back in January.
"In my opinion, [DeMeco Ryans] was a home-run hire," Watt said. "In terms of his knowledge, wisdom, energy, experience and just [the fact] that he's a Houston legend."
In Watt's words, Ryans showed he was "serious" when he brought in arguably the best class of players in this year's draft, but he was also a serious role model for the future Hall-of-Famer long before taking the helm of the Texans.
"I truly thought so much of DeMeco [when I first met him]," Watt said. "As a rookie, I [asked him] 'Where do you live?' And he told me, so, I said 'If it's good enough for DeMeco, it's good enough for me,' and I bought the house across the street from him."
Watt's admiration for his former teammate spoke levels and was a big part of why the defensive end held such high praise for Ryans when he was announced as the head coach back at the beginning of the year.
"[I thought] 'This guy does everything right off the field," Watt said. "And he is the type of person I want to emulate.'"
As Watt returns to Houston to fulfill his retirement, he will be remembered as a Texans legend and a city hero, but he'll also be remembered as a lifelong Texan, which now takes a different form. One where Watt isn't playing, but rather watching and supporting the current players.
And if Ryans has a similar impact on Houston's players today to the one he did on Watt, the Texans could be right up there with some of the best teams in the AFC.
"I feel like things are really in a good place right now," Watt said. "I think there's absolutely going to be adversity along the way ... but you give DeMeco the proper time [and] leeway to be able to do what he needs to do, and I think in a few years you look back at this offseason and think 'That was a really good one for the Texans.'"
Houston begins its 2023-24 campaign on the road against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, Sept. 10.
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