TEMPERATURE, Ariz. — Arizona Cardinals defensive midfielder JJ Watt announced in a tweet Tuesday morning that he will be retiring after this season.
“Koa’s first NFL game. My last NFL game at home. My heart is filled with nothing but love and gratitude. It was an absolute honor and joy,” he tweeted. along with a picture of him holding his son Koa and standing next to his wife Kealia at Sunday night’s game between Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Koa’s first NFL game.
My last NFL home game.My heart contains nothing but love and gratitude. It was an absolute honor and a joy.
– JJ Watt (@JJWatt) December 27, 2022
Watt’s 12-year career has two more games to go, both road trips, Atlanta Falcon and San Francisco 49ers.
He will go away as one of the best defensive players of his generation and potentially first-choice in the Hall of Famer. Watt was one of three players to be named Defensive Player of the Year three times, taking part Aaron Donald and Lawrence Taylor.
All three of those awards came when he played for Houston Texas (2012, 2014 and 2015), the franchise picked him in 11th place overall in 2011 out of Wisconsin.
Watt will end his career with the Cardinals, having signed with them ahead of the 2021 season after spending 10 seasons with the Texans. He’s one of three Watt brothers who play in the NFL.
Koa, Watt’s first child, was born in October. In late September, Watt reset his own heart rate after experiencing atrial fibrillation, then played a few days later.
Watt has 111.5 pitches (26th on the NFL career list), a statistic that’s officially been tracked since 1982. He’s also the only player to score more than 20 pitches in multiple seasons. award (2012, 2014).
Since Watt was drafted in 2011, only three other players — von Miller, Cameron Jordan and Chandler Jones – who has more sacks than him. He ranked first in the number of passes, second in the number of recoveries when clumping, and third in the number of forced clumsiness during that time.
Watt also has 28 games with at least two bags, five more than anyone else since 2011, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information.
He is one of only four players to have 100 career disqualifications and 5 touchdowns. Watt has also had four seasons with at least 15 bags since 1982, coming in second behind his childhood idol, Hall of Famer Reggie White, who had five.
Watt — who leads the Texas team’s career layoffs with 101 times, almost twice as many as the next closest person on the franchise’s career list — is still playing. in top form at the age of 33.
Of the 48 players with at least 10 clearances this season, Watt leads them all with 28 close and equals daron payne for most sacks with 9.5.
However, Watt’s impact extends far beyond this realm.
His fund has raised $6.7 million since it was started in 2010, when he was still in college. His initial goal was to raise $100,000, he said recently on Twitter.
After Hurricane Harvey in 2017, Watt’s foundation raised more than $37 million to distribute to victims. His initial goal was $200,000.
