JJ Watt talks his years-long kinship with Bengals

Watt played a lengthy NFL career, with most of his time being spent with the Houston Texans. He also spent his last few seasons playing with the Arizona Cardinals.

Watt’s comments came when he was visiting Cincinnati. He also spoke about the current state of the Bengals. He likes that Cincinnati added defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence this offseason.

“Huge, obviously, that defense is the area that they want to and need to improve the most,” Watt said, per WLWT-TV. “When you have a quarterback like Joe Burrow, you have a chance in this league.”

Watt was a first round NFL Draft pick, in the 2011 NFL Draft. He finished his career with 114.5 sacks, and 449 solo tackles.

Bengals have big expectations

Cincinnati is the only team in the AFC North this offseason with a returning head coach. The Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns have all had coaching changes.

The Bengals are hoping for big things this year. The goal is to return to the Super Bowl. Cincinnati has a star quarterback in Joe Burrow, and fans hope that he can lead them back to that championship game.

Cincinnati missed the NFL Playoffs during the 2025 season. The Bengals finished the campaign with a disappointing 6-11 record. Time will tell if the team can return to the NFL Playoffs in 2026.