Arizona Cardinals lineman J.J. Watt made a rookie linebacker's dream come true Friday by giving him a signed jersey. How it came down was revealed in a hilarious video tweeted Thursday by the Cardinals' social media team.
Update Got The Jersey! #BlessedFriday pic.twitter.com/M3zLcnbzuB
— Jesse Luketa (@OttawasVeryOwn) December 30, 2022
Jesse Luketa recently underwent surgery to remove his wisdom teeth. The linebacker found out about Watt's retirement while heavily medicated following the procedure.
Luketa then left a gargled, barely comprehensible voice memo for Watt while drugged following surgery.
JJ Watt got a text and voice memo from rookie Jesse Luketa after he announced his retirement this week. Watt didn't have Luketa's number saved.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 30, 2022
What happened after is hilarious. Watch till the end.
(via @AZCardinals)pic.twitter.com/sN7UJfHIq8
"There's a number I don't recognize that FaceTimes me. And I'm like, I'm not going to answer a FaceTime I don't know. So I just let it go to voicemail and then I get a text from that number, and it's a voice memo," recalled Watt, a future Hall of Famer.
"So I play the voice memo ... and it is incoherent," Watt continued. "Ten seconds later a picture comes through and it's Jesse Luketa ... and he has cotton balls in both sides of his mouth. He had just got his wisdom teeth out," he said.
Luketa told Watt -- as best he could -- that he wanted a signed jersey before Watt's last game.
Watt announced on Tuesday that he's retiring following this season after 12 years in the league. Luketa was drafted in the seventh round (256th overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft and has played 28 defensive snaps this year, per Pro Football Reference.
He hasn't had much of a chance to make an impact this season, but he left a lasting impression on Watt this week.
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