JJ Watt is ready to play for the Texans in 2024

Former Star Edge defender and current CBS Sports Personality GG Watt He hung up his boots at the end of the 2022 campaign. Although we haven’t heard any reports that Watt was questioning his decision, it appears as though he will return to playing for his original team under the right circumstances.

Watt, 35, was a first-round pick by the Texans in 2011, and despite a few seasons marred by injuries, he built a Hall of Fame resume during his 10-year career in Houston before calling it quits ( ostensibly) his playing career through his two years with the Cardinals. It was his first season with the Texans as well Demico Ryans“The latter as a linebacker with Houston (Ryans, of course, is now entering his second season as the team’s head coach).

Before the start of the 2023 campaign, Watt told Ryans he would be a fit for the Texans if Ryans needed him to do so ( video connection via Brandon Scott of Sports Radio 610). Apparently, that offer is also on the table for 2024, although that would be the last year Watt makes himself available to his old club.

“I told DeMeco last year, ‘I said, ‘Don’t call unless you really need it, but if you ever call,’ I will be here,'” Watt said at a charity softball game yesterday (h/t Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith). “And he knows not to call unless he really 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, but he knows that if he really needs it, I’ll be there for him. I don’t see that happening.” They have a very good selection.

In fact, Ryan W C.J. Stroud He was the toast of the league in 2023, when the rookie HC and rookie QB led the Texans on a surprise run to the divisional round of the AFC playoffs. This season, Houston has made a number of notable additions to its defensive front, including a four-time Pro Bowler Danielle Hunter. Hunter and 2023 first-rounder Will Anderson He should form a dynamic duo on the defensive side, with players like Derek Barnett And a 2023 fourth-round pick Dylan Horton In support.

As Watt said, it’s unlikely Ryans will need to call up his former teammate, but Watt is still a standout player in the hole. Watt’s comments indicate that he has maintained his football fitness, and in his final year with Arizona in 2022, he started 16 games and had 12.5 sacks. If Ryans needs an in-season addition to his cadre of pass rushers, he could certainly do a lot worse.