CLEVELAND, Ohio – NFL Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski may find himself with a three-time NFL defensive player of the year in JJ Watt this season.
Watt, who was released by the Texans on Friday, is seriously considering the Browns as one of his options because they have a lot he wants, sources tell cleveland.com.
The two biggest things? Money and a potential Super Bowl. What’s more, they have a strong cast and a positive environment. Check, check, look and look.
Because of a frustrating 4-12 season, Watt wants to play for a Super Bowl contender, and the Browns tick off this important block. They reached the Final 8 last season and lost in the AFC Division Round with defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs, 22-17.
Watt, 32, also wants to pay his market value, and the Browns have a chance to pay him. They are 10th in the NFL with about $ 21.7 million in space. Watt would earn $ 17.5 million in 2021 and will likely be looking for something in the ballpark.
The Browns were willing to pay Jadeveon Clowney so much last season, which made him a higher one-year offer than any other team, and a very competitive multi-year offer.
Watt, an All-Pro, a five-time first team, will certainly not be cheap, but he will be worth it if he can jump the Browns over the road and succeed in the elusive Super Bowl.
Many of the teams interested in Watt have been caught and cannot catch up. The Steelers, who already have Watt’s two brothers TJ and Derek Watt on their rankings, are currently about $ 30 million over the hood. Ben Roethlisberger has said he will restructure his contract to reduce his $ 41.5 million cap by 2021, but they will likely have to take other steps to make it happen.
Watt has outplayed Bucs QB Tom Brady, who has just won his seventh Super Bowl, and would no doubt want to join him in Tampa, where the Bucs have an 11th captaincy with about $ 14.8 million left, according to overthecap. com.
“Tom is amazing. It’s amazing what he did. “I do not think people understand or appreciate it or they can see how insanely difficult it is,” Watt told Jimmy Fallon in The Tonight Show. “The man is just, he’s the best of all time”
There are rumors that he would also like to return to Green Bay and play with Aaron Rodgers, but the Packers are currently also upside down with about $ 19 million. Other teams he’s teamed up with are also in trouble, including the Titans (over $ 3 million), the Bills (over $ 322,851) and the Bears (over $ 191,825).
In addition to the Browns’ current $ 21.7 million, they could clear up more headroom, depending on roster moves they make this season.
But they wasted no time on Friday in engaging Watt’s representatives, and they can deliver a competitive offer and a compelling offer.
“He is a very unique player in the sense that his combination of size, strength, athleticism, speed and strength is truly unmatched,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said of Watt in November before the Browns defeated the Texans. winds beat by 10-7. FirstEnergy Stadium on November 15th. He gets the long arms up, and he bats balls in the air. He is a very, very disruptive player. He’s standing across the formation, so you can not enter where he’s going to be. I have a lot of respect for what he has done in his career. ”
Watt, who was a constant double team in 2020 and only had five pockets, would also have the benefit of discussing with Myles Garrett, who will draw a lot of attention away from him and free him up to make plays. In defense of Joe Woods, he is likely to return in 2021 with double-digit pockets.
‘[Garrett’s] of course a wonderful year so far, ‘Watt said before their meeting in November. “Hopefully he will not play a good game on Sunday. That is the goal for us. The man is a hell of a player. He has speed. He has speed and power. He has all the tools you need, and of course he plays at an extremely high level. ”
Supporting casting and team culture are also two high priorities for Watt, according to sources, and the Browns meet both of these criteria. The club will strengthen the defense in the off-season, and players like to play for Stefanski and the rest of his staff. The atmosphere in Cleveland is good, and Watt will get a good report from Garrett and others.
His frustration over the lost culture in Houston spilled over to a 37-31 loss to Bengal in Week 16, and the writing was on the wall he wanted.
“Our professional athletes get paid a lot of money,” Watt told reporters after the game. ‘If you can not come in and put work into the building, go to your training ground and work hard, do your lifts and do what you have to do, you must not be here. It’s a job. We are paid a lot of money.
‘There are a lot of people watching us and investing their time and their money to buy our jerseys and buy a whole bunch of s, and they care about that. They care every week. We’re in Week 16 and we’re 4-11, and there’s fans watching this game, showing up at the stadium, spending time and energy and effort and effort on it. So if you can not go out there and can not practice, you can not arrive on time, you can not practice, you do not want to go there and win, you should not be here. Because it’s a privilege. This is the biggest task in the world. You can go out and play a game. And if you can not care enough, even in Week 17, even if you are trash, if you are 4-11. If you can not care enough to go there and give everything you have and try your best, it’s bulls – ”
Watt will find the opposite in Cleveland, where Stefanski has turned the culture into one of accountability and wins in one season.
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