CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Browns wasted little time expressing interest in former Houston Texan J.J. Watt.
It appears Watt is just as interested in the Browns.
According to a report from Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com Tuesday, Watt is “seriously considering the Browns as one of his options” after requesting and receiving his release from Houston last week.
And why wouldn’t he?
The Browns have a lot going for them and meet the “supporting cast and team culture” requirements for Watt according to Cabot.
Watt, a five-time first-team All-Pro and three-time Defensive Player of the Year, wanted out of Houston following a 4-12 season and a complete organizational makeover over the past few months.
Kevin Stefanski had the most successful season of the first-year head coaches in 2020 turning the Browns into a playoff team. He was named the NFL’s coach of the Year by the Pro Football Writers of America, Sporting News and Associated Press.
Cleveland is coming off their best season in 26 years, finishing 11-5 in the regular season, and were a couple of plays away from advancing to the AFC Championship game following a 22-17 loss to the Chiefs in the divisional round.
Defensive end Myles Garrett, who had 12.0 sacks, including four strip-sacks, made the Pro Bowl and was named an AP first-team All-Pro so Watt wouldn’t have to come in and carry the burden of the pass rush and the attention from opposing offensive lines all by himself.
Most importantly, they are one of very few teams believed to be in contention for his services with available salary cap room. Tampa Bay is also under the cap while Pittsburgh, Green Bay, Tennessee, Buffalo and Chicago are all projected to be over the cap, but they could create room with roster moves.
Watt was scheduled to make around $17.5 million in 2021 and it’s reasonable to expect he’ll look to make that, if not more per year, wherever he signs.
Last offseason the Browns explored the option of signing Jadeveon Clowney and were willing to pay him $17 million before he chose to sign with the Titans and so they restructured the final year of Olivier Vernon’s contract and agreed not to tag him for agreeing to the modified deal.
So while Cleveland may not be Watt’s top choice, the Browns are positioned well to recruit and ultimately sign him.
Cabot joined Baskin & Phelps Tuesday to discuss her report. Listen to the interview below.