J.J. Watt: Fans Pay Tribute to NFL Legend Following His Retirement Announcement

By Brian Jones

J.J. Watt will end his NFL career after this season. On Tuesday, the NFL star announced his retirement, which will be effective after the final game of the 2022 season. This past weekend, Watt played in his final NFL home game, and he now has two games remaining with the Arizona Cardinals, which are road games against the Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers. 

Watt, 33, will likely be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame when he's first eligible in 2028. He began his career as a member of the Houston Texans in 2011. He played for the Texans for 10 seasons and was selected to the Pro Bowl five times, the All-Pro team seven times and was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year three times. Watt led the NFL in sacks in 2012 and 2015 and his production over the last 10 years led to him being selected to the 2010s All-Decade Team. 

In 2021, Watt signed a two-year contract with the Cardinals. Last year, Watt played in only seven games due to a season-ending shoulder injury. He has played in 14 games this year and has recorded 9.5 sacks, the most since 2018 when he registered 16 sacks. In his career, Watt has tallied 111.5 sacks, 17 fumble recoveries and 69 passes defended. Here's a look at fans reacting to Watt's retirement announcement. 

The Announcement

Eric Lieberman replied: "I hate how the MVP award has basically become a best QB award. JJ Watt should have won MVP in 2014 with 20.5 sacks, 4 FF, 1 Int, 29 TFLs, 3 receiving TDs. Could have also won it in 2012."

Here Comes the Hall of Fame

One fan asked: "What I don't understand is the wait time before you can be inducted, not for Watt, but for anyone, what's the point of the years after retirement?"

The Wife

One fan said: "Congrats J.J.... We miss you dearly here in Texas but, we understand completely why you left! I can't understand why you stayed so long! Wish you and your family all the best for the New Year to come! You have a beautiful family!"

First Sack

One Twitter user wrote: "It's a shame his career was wasted with such awful teams. Just imagine the playoff runs some teams could have had if they had him to bolster their defense."

Memorable 2014 Season

A person replied: "Still blows my mind the gave it to Rodgers over him what jj did that season who knows if we see that level of dominance again in one year by a player on the dline and te can't forget that."

Man of the Year

One fan said: "I hope he'll come back to Houston. I know that he isn't playing anymore, but maybe he can help the team in some other way. Plus he was just a great Houstonian."

A Great Resume

And this fan said: "I got to see prime JJ watt when he play against the colts in like 2015-2016. Dude batted a pass caught it and scored lol."

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