Cardinals’ J.J. Watt suggests retirement after 12-year career in NFL
(KYMA, KECY/ AP News) - After 12 seasons of terrorizing opposing offenses as one of the best defensive players to ever play, including a Hall of Fame-worthy four-year stretch from 2012-2015, J.J. Watt looks like he's calling it a career.
Watt implied he was hanging it up after the 2022 season following a social media post Tuesday morning with a picture of him and his family saying “Koa’s first ever NFL game. My last ever NFL home game. My heart is filled with nothing but love and gratitude. It’s been an absolute honor and a pleasure.”
Watt is a three-time AP Defensive Player of the Year, all of them coming during his tenure in Houston where he tore up the field from 2011-2020.
The defensive lineman's four-year stretch from 2012-2015 included 69 sacks, plus 119 tackles for loss.
In his 10 years in Houston as one of the most beloved athletes ever, Watt set Texans franchise records in sacks (101), tackles for loss (172), quarterback hits (281) and forced fumbles (25).
He has now spent his last two seasons in Arizona after his production slipped from 2016-2019, mainly due to several season-ending injuries. Yet, he has had a bit of a late-career revival for the Cardinals in 2022 with 9.5 sacks.
