In a classic case of J.J. Watt being J.J. Watt, the retired former Houston Texans edge rusher showed up to the team’s facilities on Friday for a 6 a.m. workout ahead of his Ring of Honor induction ceremony on Sunday.
Watt not only showed up to work, but he also posted a long tribute to the training staff that he used to workout with daily at sunrise.
“They show up in the morning while it’s still dark outside and they leave at night when it’s dark outside,” Watt wrote. “Yet they would still be in the weight room at 4:30 a.m. every morning getting a workout in before they started their full day of work helping us players… That has always inspired me.”
It will be a family affair as the Texans host the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday, led defensively by Watt’s younger brother T.J. Watt.
Watt retired from the game after his 12th NFL season. He started out with the Houston Texans, playing from 2011-20, before arriving in Arizona ahead of the 2021 season. He’ll join former Texans receiving legend Andre Johnson and Robert McNair in the Ring of Honor.
A three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, he appeared in five Pro Bowls, earned five All-Pro selections and won the 2017 Walter Payton Man of the Year award, among his many accolades.
Watt joining Texans’ Ring of Honor
One of the biggest things Watt did for Houston wasn’t on the football field. After Hurricane Harvey struck the city, Watt’s Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund raised over $41.6 million for rebuilding efforts.
The Texans drafted Watt with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft after an impressive career at Wisconsin following a transfer from Central Michigan. He was a first-team All-American and first-team All-Big Ten selection that year as the Badgers shared the Big Ten title and clinched a Rose Bowl appearance.
During his NFL career, Watt totaled 586 tackles, 114.5 sacks, two interceptions and three touchdowns. Although injuries became a problem the last couple of years, he finished his career on a bounce-back year, with 39 tackles and 12.5 sacks.
In 2022, he had a cardiac event that required medical attention but he returned to the field right away. He went into atrial fibrillation and had his heart shocked back into rhythm two days before playing a game.
Watt could have continued playing, but he told Chris Long on his podcast that it was becoming increasingly difficult to prepare his body and mind to play each season as he aged.
“In terms of the actual retirement, it was much more physical and mental than anything else,” Watt said. “You guys know better than anybody how much it takes physically and mentally to prepare every season especially as you get later and later in your career… Can I still do it? Absolutely. Do I have to work significantly harder… yes. That’s the part I didn’t want to have to do anymore.”
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