Armond Watts was deemed by Pro Football Focus as the free agent the Pittsburgh Steelers can’t afford to lose. But on Wednesday that is exactly what happened. The defensive lineman signed with the New England Patriots. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero was the first to report. No terms of the deal are known at this time.
Armon Watts
Watts is entering his sixth NFL season. The Minnesota Vikings selected him in the sixth round (No. 190 overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft. He played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks. Watts spent three seasons with the Minnesota Vikings before playing one season each for the Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Armon Watts enjoyed his best season with Minnesota in 2021. He recorded 46 tackles (20 solo), 5.0 sacks, and 10 QB hits. All remain career highs. Watts also played a career bet 56% of defensive snaps for the Vikings that season.
The 6-foot-5, 307-pound defensive lineman has appeared in 73 career games, including postseason, with 22 starts.
Props From Pro Football Focus
This offseason Pro Football Focus identified one player from each NFL franchise that they could not afford to lose in free agency. For the Pittsburgh Steelers, that player was Armon Watts. PFF’s BBrad Spielberger wrote of the selection:
“Pittsburgh has very few pending free agents of note, which is generally a good thing, but Armon Watts was quietly a very effective rotational interior defensive lineman with the ability to push the pocket and work off Cameron Heyward, rookie Keeanu Benton, and Larry Ogunjobi. With Heyward entering his age-36 season and Ogunjobi a potential cap casualty, retaining Watts on a lower-cost deal would make a lot of sense. Watts recorded a pressure rate about 10% on the interior, and his 73.8 run-defense grade was a career high by more than 10 grading points.”
New England’s Defensive Line Room
New England released veteran Lawrence Guy Sr. a few weeks back. Watts now slides into his roster spot.
The New England Patriots have ten defensive linemen under contract for 2024. Armon Watts joins a unit that includes Christian Barmore, Deatrich Wise Jr., Keion White, Davon Godchaux, Daniel Ekuale, Jeremiah Pharms, Sam Roberts, Will Bradley-King, and Trysten Hill.
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