Former Wisconsin Badger, Houston Texan, and now Arizona Cardinals legendary defensive lineman, JJ Watt has played in his final career professional football game. Watt’s Cardinals came up short against one of the NFL’s best teams in the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday afternoon, 38-13.
JJ Watt Career Bio
JJ Watt began his playing career at Pewaukee High School in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, playing as a Tight End. Watt was then offered a scholarship by Central Michigan, where he’d spend one season with the Chippewas before being asked to move to Offensive Tackle. However, Watt decided to make the move to defensive end and walk-on to the University of Wisconsin. Watt would certainly find his groove with the Badgers as he spent two seasons in Madison, where he’d play 26 games and compiled 106 tackles to go along with 11.5 sacks over the course of 2009 and 2010 seasons, respectively. Watt earned several honors at Wisconsin as he brought home the Ronnie Lott Trophy in 2010 as well as being voted to the AP and Sports Illustrated second-team All-American, All-Big Ten first-team, academic All-Big Ten, in addition to being voted the Badgers’ team MVP.
Watt was selected 11th overall by the Houston Texans in the 2011 NFL Draft. The former Badger would spend 10 seasons with the Texans, where he’d earn three NFL Defensive Player of The Year honors. Watt would be named to the First-team All-Pro team on five occasions, the Second-team two times, while being selected as Pro Bowler five times. Watt would wrap up his NFL career after signing a two-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals following the 2019-2020 NFL season.
JJ Watt Career Stats
- 2008 (Central Michigan, Tight End): 14 games, 8 receptions, 77 yards
- 2009 (Wisconsin): 13 games, 44 tackles, 4.5 sacks
- 2010 (Wisconsin): 13 games, 62 tackles, 7.0 sacks
- 2011 (Houston): 16 games, 56 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries
- 2012 (Houston): 16 games, 81 tackles, 20.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries
- 2013 (Houston): 16 games, 80 tackles, 10.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries
- 2014 (Houston): 16 games, 78 tackles, 20.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, 5 fumble recoveries, 1 interception, 1 touchdown − 3 receptions, 4 receiving yards, 4 receiving touchdowns
- 2015 (Houston): 16 games, 76 tackles, 17.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery
- 2016 (Houston): 3 games, 8 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 fumble recovery
- 2017 (Houston): 5 games, 15 tackles
- 2018 (Houston): 16 games, 61 tackles, 16.0 sacks, 7 forced fumbles
- 2019 (Houston): 8 games, 24 tackles, 4.0 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries
- 2020 (Houston): 16 games, 52 tackles, 5.0 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery
- 2021 (Arizona): 7 games, 16 tackles, 1.0 sacks, 1 forced fumble
- 2022 (Arizona): 39 tackles, 12.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery
- NFL Career Totals (Houston, Arizona): 151 games, 586 tackles, 114.5 sacks, 27 forced fumbles, 17 fumble recoveries, 1 touchdown − 3 receptions, 4 receiving yards, 4 receiving touchdowns
JJ Watt Career Accolades
- 3× NFL Defensive Player of the Year (2012, 2014, 2015)
- Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year (2017)
- 5× First-team All-Pro (2012–2015, 2018)
- 2× Second-team All-Pro (2014, 2018)
- 5× Pro Bowl (2012–2015, 2018)
- 2× NFL sacks leader (2012, 2015)
- NFL forced fumbles co-leader (2018)
- NFL 2010s All-Decade Team
- PFWA All-Rookie Team (2011)
- Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year (2017)
- Bert Bell Award (2014)
- Lott Trophy (2010)
- First-team All-American (2010)
- First-team All-Big Ten (2010)
- Seasons with 20+ sacks: 2 (NFL record)
- Seasons leading league in sacks: 2 (NFL record)
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