SURPRISE: WATT A CARDINAL
J.J. Watt agreed to a twoyear contract with the Arizona Cardinals, showing that the franchise will be aggressive once again in its push to snap a five-year playoff drought.
The team announced the deal with the free agent edge rusher on Monday. Watt was released last month by the Houston Texans, for whom he won three NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards.
A person familiar with the contract told The Associated Press that the total package is worth $31 million. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team did not reveal any terms.
A five-time All-Pro, Watt — who turns 32 in three weeks — has been one of the NFL’s best players for a decade, but asked out of Houston, which is undergoing a roster upheaval. Watt joins another former Texans star, wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, in Arizona. Hopkins was acquired by the Cardinals in a one-sided trade a year ago.
Watt had one year remaining on a six-year, $100 million contract with the Texans.
Watt’s signing is an indication that the Cardinals are willing to spend money in their effort to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2015. They finished with an 8-8 record in 2020, losing five of their last seven games to fall just short of the postseason.
Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph can now add Watt to a group that already has veteran edge rusher Chandler Jones, who had 19 sacks in 2019 before his 2020 season was cut short by a biceps injury. The Cardinals also have young playmakers such as linebacker Isaiah Simmons and Pro Bowl safety Budda Baker.
Hopkins foreshadowed Watt’s arrival in the desert a few weeks ago on Instagram, when he posted a picture of the two players, including Watt in a photoshopped Cardinals jersey with the message “Let’s finish what we started ”
Though he has been plagued by injuries in recent years, Watt started all 128 games in which he appeared in the past 10 years after entering the league as Houston’s firstround selection, 11th overall, in the 2011 draft out of Wisconsin. In 2017, he was selected as the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year for his work in helping Houston recover from Hurricane Harvey.
Smith out in Washington?
The Washington Football Team is expected to part ways with veteran quarterback Alex Smith in the coming days, according to a person with knowledge of the situation, ending Smith’s storied comeback with the team after one season.
After returning from a compound leg fracture he suffered during a game in November of 2018, Smith went 5-1 as a starter last season to lead Washington on a four-game winning streak that helped it clinch an NFC East title — its first in five years.
Although Smith has said he plans to make a decision about his future in football during the offseason, he has strongly hinted in multiple interviews that he wants to continue playing.
If Smith is released, the team would take on $10.8 million in dead cap money — or money it already paid Smith that will still count against its salary cap — but will save roughly $14 million in cap room.
Chiefs on the mend
The Chiefs expect Patrick Mahomes to be ready for offseason workouts following surgery on his toe, and they are optimistic that offensive tackles Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz could be available for the start of training camp.
Mahomes had surgery on Feb. 10, shortly after the Chiefs were walloped by the Buccaneers in the Super Bowl, to repair a turf toe injury that had hobbled him throughout the playoffs. The recovery time is about three months, which means Mahomes — whose fiancee recently gave birth to their first child — could be ready for summer minicamp.
Perhaps more surprising was the positive outlook on Fisher, who tore his Achilles tendon against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC championship game, and Schwartz, whose disk injury in his back limited him to just six games early in the season.
Notable
The Texans released veteran quarterback Josh McCown, 41, likely ending his 18-year NFL career. Also, the Texans signed cornerback Cornell Armstrong and running backs Dontrell Hilliard and Buddy Howell to contract extensions.