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J.J. Watt Chooses The Cardinals, Adds Depth To Arizona’s Improved Defense

This article is more than 3 years old.

J.J. Watt’s very public and short-lived free agency is over, and the five-time All-Pro defensive tackle has chosen to sign with the Arizona Cardinals.

The news was announced by Watt himself on Twitter on Monday morning, as the gregarious lineman posted a picture of himself working out in a Cardinals t-shirt.

The Cardinals announced the signing shortly after, and Ian Rapaport of the NFL Network reported the deal is for two years and $31 million, with $23 million guaranteed. Watt, who will be 32 next season, is not necessarily the MVP-caliber talent he was at his peak, but still had the seventh-highest Pro Football Focus grade at his position in 2020 with Houston.

Watt played all 16 games for the Texans last season and had 17 quarterback hits in addition to five sacks. He will bolster the front line of a Cardinals defense that grew as the 2020 season went along, finishing in the top 10 in Football Outsiders’ defensive DVOA metric, and moved into the top seven when weighting for the final four weeks of the season.

However, the team was much better against the pass than the run, and because they will get back All-Pro pass-rusher Chandler Jones, it was likely a focus for general manager Steve Keim and the Cardinals front office to add size up front. They accomplish that with Watt, who in addition to his pass-rushing pressures, had 14 tackles for loss in 2020.

Altogether, a Cardinals defense that jumped from 20th to 10th in defensive efficiency under head coach Kliff Kingsbury and defensive coordinator Vance Joseph will have a chance to be even better with returning players and the addition of Watt. Still weeks out from the busy time of NFL free agency and the draft, Arizona could keep adding.

With Watt reuniting with former Texans teammate De’Andre Hopkins, it is yet another free agency magic trick for Keim, who is heading into year three of the Kingsbury-Kyler Murray era. Watt will add make the Cardinals’ defense more prolific, likely more flexible, and — if all goes well — quite a bit better.

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