J.J. Watt reveals if he could un-retire, return to NFL

Defensive superstar J.J. Watt sounds committed to remaining retired even though he suggested he could offer plenty to a Super Bowl contender at the age of 34. 

"There’s no doubt that as you see the promotions start rolling in, and knowing the game is coming up, you definitely have that competitive edge where you’re like, 'I could still do this,'" Watt told Jenna Lemoncelli of the New York Post. "I definitely could go out there if I wanted to still play well. But then there’s the other part of you — that when I woke up this morning, my body felt great, my knees felt good, my back felt good because nobody’s hitting me every single day. So, I always remind myself at any time where I start to get that itch, like, 'should I?' — I just remember, 'Oh yeah. No, I enjoy waking up feeling great.'"

Watt retired after he spent the last two seasons with the Arizona Cardinals and will be inducted into the Houston Texans' Ring of Honor during the team's home game versus the Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday. T.J. Watt, J.J.'s younger brother, features for Pittsburgh and is one of the league's top defensive stars. 

J.J. Watt joined the Texans as the 11th overall pick of the 2011 NFL Draft and earned three Defensive Player of the Year Awards, along with numerous other honors, during his Houston tenure that ended when he asked for his release in February 2021. Back in June, the future Hall of Famer revealed that the birth of his son impacted his decision to call time on his playing career.

Watt has embraced numerous off-the-field opportunities following his retirement and currently serves as an NFL analyst for CBS Sports. 

"This is the first fall that I’ll have Thanksgiving and Christmas to be able to be at home and not have any meetings or practices," Watt explained. "I mean, the month of August was fantastic. I’ve never had it before [because] I’ve had training camp all the time — so it was really nice to be able to do some things and enjoy that time with my family." 

It seems that any teams thinking about giving Watt a call before the holiday season approaches can put that idea to bed ahead of October.