The Arizona Cardinals have signed JJ Watt
Today JJ Watt and the Cardinals announced that they have agreed to a two year contract worth $31 million with $23 million guaranteed. Watt was released on February 12th after 10 years with the Texans. He had said after he had left the organization that he wants to sign with a contender and many considered the Steelers, Browns, Bills and Packers to be front runners for the future hall of famer. The announcement comes after a long morning of Watt rumors after NFL insider, Field Yates tweeted that a peloton account that allegedly belonged to JJ had made its bio to say that Green Bay, Cleveland and Buffalo were his final top three. To say the least, this was a fake account, as JJ tweeted that he doesn’t even own a Peloton bike. Shortly after this he tweeted a photo of himself working out in a Cardinals shirt with the caption, “source: me.” This essentially killed all rumors and brought an end to the two and a half weeks that the media and fans alike were speculating where he would end up.
So the Cardinals have signed future hall of famer, three time defensive player of the year, and five time all pro defensive end JJ Watt to a two year deal, what does this signing mean for the rest of the team, the NFC West and the league?
With the unique season in 2020, the NFL cap limit has been reduced to $180 million, a reduction of over $20 million. The Cardinals currently have $11 million in cap space, according to overthecap.com. This figure comes before the $5 million increase and also doesn’t include JJ’s contract. It’s no shock that the Cardinals will have to make some moves to reduce their cap hit so they can have a shot at other free agents. Some glaring holes that the team has is cornerback and running back. The Cardinals top corner, Patrick Peterson will be a free agent this year, and the team has to decide if they will bring him back or not. The team has said that they want to keep most of the defense intact from what they had last year, but it will be interesting to see if they hold true. Kenyan Drake has also been Arizonas lead back for the last year and half and has been.. decent. He broke out at the end of 2019 but his 2020 was subpar, and with his high asking price its possible they let him walk. The cardinals could look to fill these holes in the draft, as there is likely to be solid talent when they pick, or they could look to trade. There are currently several candidates for cut as well. Those being Justin Pugh, Jordan Hicks, Robert Alford, Devon Kennard and Maxx Williams. All of these players could be candidates for cuts due to high cap hits and low production/replaceability.
The NFC West is affected by this signing too, as it could potentially push Russel Wilson out of the division. February 2nd Russ said that he’s tired of getting hit so much, as he’s one of the most sacked players over his career. The fact that all three of his division rivals has deadly defensive lines now, may make him consider the NFC East as a safer division to play out the rest of his career (@cowboys).
And lastly, the NFL sees a greater priority on defense to go along with a deadly passing game. The cardinals have built around Kyler on offense, especially with trading for Deandre Hopkins. However, the front office and GM Steve Keim understand that defense is a necessity. The Cardinals went 8-8 in 2020 and five of those losses were one score games. If they had won those games, they would have potentially been the number one seed in the NFC. Yes cardinals fans, it was that close. So what the rest of the league needs to gather from the Cardinals blueprint is that its important to prioritize both sides of the ball and take those big shots you need to win now.
To conclude, the Cardinals made a great move, but still have some huge decisions to make due to the cap space. Whether they trade away some of their huge pieces or make cuts with some replaceable guys, it will take time and sacrifice, especially due to the lower cap and unusual offseason. As for the rest of the league, there’s one question we’ve got to ask, who are you gonna double team now?