By Jordan Long
Defensive end J.J. Watt is a free agent for the first time in his career. He is one of the top available players at the position. He will take his time deciding which team is the right fit. Watt would like to go to a team who has a chance to win a Super Bowl since that is the only thing missing in his Hall of Fame resume. One team interested is the Green Bay Packers.
The Packers are always a team in the Super Bowl conversation because of their quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. He can score points to help this team win. The Packers know it isn’t just on Rodgers’ arm. The defense has to show up too.
Last year the Packers’ defense was able to put pressure on the quarterbacks making them toss the football sooner than they wanted to. If they didn’t, the defense sacked them with a total of 41, tied for 10th in the NFL. Not bad, but that number needs to be higher for them to do something in the playoffs.
The Packers advanced to the playoffs for the 2nd consecutive year and went to the NFC Championship Game. Unfortunately, that is where their season ended. They lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-26. In the loss, they put a lot of pressure on Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady. Brady didn’t have time to set his feet and threw 3 picks but the Packers only sacked him 1 time. They needed to take him down more to win this game to change the course of the field position. They didn’t and Tampa Bay went on to win the Super Bowl.
The Packers should sign Watt. He is one of the best defensive ends in the game. His presence alone could improve the pass rush. Watt totaled 101 sacks in his career and surpassed the double digit sack mark 4 times. Last year, in a down year for the Texans, he was able to take down the quarterback 5 times.
The Packers know they need to improve the defensive line if they want to make another deep run in 2021 but don’t have the cap room right now to sign Watt. Green Bay is over the cap by around $28 million. They will need to look to shred salary.
The Packers will try and make a run at Watt. He may want a contract similar to the one he had in Houston. Watt was paid around $15 million last year which could be a problem for the Packers. What may happen is they could pay Watt a small base salary of $10 million and add incentives to his contract which might equal $15 million or more.
Watt knows teams will be interested because he can strengthen a defensive line. He will have to pick the one that he feels is best for him. The offseason will determine where he goes but the Packers may be the top spot for him if he wants to have a chance to win a Super Bowl ring.
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