After retiring from the NFL following the 2022 season, former defensive end J.J. Watt has stayed busy.
Watt became a minority investor in Burnley FC in 2023, has appeared in multiple commercials, and has seemingly been enjoying retirement.
But, is Watt really retired?
Speaking to the media Saturday after his annual charity softball game in Houston, the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year wouldn’t fully close the book on playing in the NFL again, but said, via ESPN, that it would take a special circumstance to get him back.
“I’m a very fortunate, lucky man, I have a beautiful wife, I have a beautiful son. I’ve had 12 great years in this league and I’m very thankful to have walked away healthy and playing great,” Watt told reporters. “I told DeMeco [Ryans] last year: ‘Don’t call unless you absolutely need it, but, if you ever do call, I’ll be there.’ And he knows not to call unless he absolutely needs it. This is the last year I’ll tell him that, because I’m not going to keep training [the way] I’ve been training.”
Watt’s comments are made more interesting by the fact that he joined the NFL on CBS team as a studio analyst on The NFL Today for the 2023 season and will continue in a part-time role in the 2024 season. Long-time analysts Boomer Esiason and Phil Simms both exited the show earlier this week, so potentially losing Watt to an NFL comeback would mean the departure of another panelist.
[ESPN]
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