Tampa Bay Buccaneers should explore signing J.J. Watt

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may need some pass rush help this offseason. Is J.J. Watt an option?

Much like a “Woj Bomb” or “Shams Bomb” of NBA Twitter circles, NFL Network and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport dropped a tweet from the clouds on Friday morning pertaining to J.J. Watt that has the NFL world talking.

Naturally, the immediate reaction is to discuss where Watt will end up in 2021. Fans of every team make their case for the future Hall of Famer and we’ll be no different. However, the question is would Watt be a good fit with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? The answer is yes. Yes, he would.

With impending free agents like Shaquil Barrett and Ndamukong Suh, the Buccaneers will need pass-rushing help. Sure, Barrett is likely to return and has a desire to, but the case of Suh isn’t as clear. Suh is 34 and may be expensive to bring back since he still produces and had a good Super Bowl. Watt, on the other hand, is amazingly only 31, and while there are injury concerns, he did start all 16 games in 2020 for an awful Houston Texans team while registering five sacks. Watt would provide the same veteran leadership Suh did and is just as widely respected around the NFL as Suh, if not more so. Watt can fill in on all four spots along the defensive line, which would benefit both him and the team.

While he’s no spring chicken and there are injury concerns, the 2014 All-Pro member would fit better than one would initially think. Do you know who else were All-Pros in 2014? Tom Brady, Antonio Brown, Rob Gronkowski, and the aforementioned Suh. LeSean McCoy was a Pro Bowler in 2014 and Jason Pierre-Paul had a 12.5 sack season. What do they all have in common? They all thrived in 2014 and were Super Bowl champions with the Buccaneers in 2020. After enduring multiple disappointing seasons in Houston whether they be playoff defeats or the franchise’s current state of implosion, Watt may also be willing to take a pay cut as a veteran trying to finally get himself a ring.

On the surface, the Buccaneers signing J.J. Watt may seem far fetched. However, when one looks a little further into it a bit, it really isn’t out of the question. The Buccaneers would be wise to at least explore the possibility.