(Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
Three-time Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt announced on Twitter yesterday that he was joining the Cardinals. The Watt sweepstakes lasted a little over two weeks and a slew of teams was reportedly interested in him. Watt actually caught many by surprise with signing with Arizona, as the Packers, Bills, and Titans were the favorites to land him.
One of the teams that were definitely interested in Watt was the Steelers, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. Fowler states that Watt would have welcomed playing with his brothers Derek and T.J., but the Cardinals took clear advantage in the final days.
The Steelers are in a salary-cap crunch right now, as they're currently projected to be around $12 million over the cap, so their offer wouldn't have come close to the two-year, $31 million, with a $23 million guaranteed deal that Watt signed with the Cardinals.
Some expected that Watt might have taken a discount to play with his brothers, but in all reality, that was never going to be the case. Watt will earn almost the same amount per year that he would have with the Texans this year.
According to John Gambadoro, the host on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Phoenix, Watt was offered more by the Browns and Colts, and the deal he signed with the Cardinals was similar to what the Titans offered.
Watt had his press conference with the Cardinals today and mentioned Kyler Murray, DeAndre Hopkins, and Vance Joseph as reasons he chose the Cardinals. He said Joseph runs a similar scheme to the one that Wade Phillips ran in Houston, so he was familiar with that.
Comments