Houston Texans legend J.J. Watt announced his retirement from the NFL Tuesday morning via social media. He will conclude his career on Jan 8., when the Arizona Cardinals end the 2022 season against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium.
Watt, a perennial first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, played 12 seasons in the NFL. He established himself as one of the top defensive linemen in history and one of the best players to get after the quarterback.
He currently has 111.5 career sacks, which ranks 26th all-time. And quarterback Drew Brees holds the unfortunate honor of becoming Watt's first target during his rookie campaign in 2011.
During a Week 3 contest on Sept. 25, the Texans held a nine-point lead over the New Orleans Saints with two minutes left in the second quarter. The Saints held the ball deep within Houston's territory on 2nd-and-8 when Watt rushed New Orleans' offensive line to register his first career sack.
The then 22-year-old defensive end saluted the crowd to celebrate the moment. But the Texans fell short during a 40-33 loss inside the-then The Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
Watt recorded 5.5 sacks as a rookie and had five seasons where he recorded double-digit sacks.
In 2012, Watt took home the first of three Defensive Player of the Year awards after recording 20.5 sacks on the season — a career-high he would later match in 2014.
He posted 74.5 sacks through his first five seasons and appeared to be on track to surpass Bruce Smith as the NFL's all-time leader (200.0). But injuries derailed Watt's career, limiting him to 62 games ahead of his final contest in January.
Watt became the 34th player in league history to reach 100 career sacks during his final season with the Texans in 2020 and the first in franchise history to achieve the milestone.
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