Green Bay Packers Hit 2 of JJ Watt’s 3 Free Agency Considerations

The JJ Watt sweepstakes is off and running as many teams, and fan bases hope to land the former three-time Defensive Player of the Year. While there are undoubtedly a number of other teams who have reached out, the “big four” at this point appear to be the Cleveland Browns, the Green Bay Packers, the Buffalo Bills, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Tennessee Titans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are two other teams who have popped up, and this is of course all just speculation at this point.

As far as what Watt is looking for in his next team, we know that joining a Super Bowl contender is a must. And on Wednesday, ESPN’s Ed Werder tweeted out the three “most important considerations” that Watt will use when selecting his next team.

As Ed mentions, the quarterback, the supporting personnel, and money are the criteria. And while it’s not specified whether or not that is the exact order of importance, if it is, then that’s a good sign for the Green Bay Packers, who have two of the three items easily met.

The Quarterback: Check

Of the teams mentioned above, the Green Bay Packers have the advantage in this category with Aaron Rodgers at the helm. The 37-year-old quarterback had a resurgence in Year 2 of the Matt LaFleur offense as he totaled 4,299 passing yards and a league-best 70.7 completion percentage, a league-high 48 touchdowns, 9.6 yards per attempt, and a passer rating of 121.5–both of which were also tops in the NFL.

Rodgers went on to win his third MVP award and is showing no signs of slowing down as he recemented himself as one of the top quarterbacks in football.

This obviously bodes well for the Green Bay Packers’ chances of landing JJ Watt.

The Supporting Cast: Check

The defensive side of the ball is undergoing some changes in Green Bay as Mike Pettine is out as defensive coordinator and Joe Barry is in. Yet despite the big change and new defensive system coming in, there is unquestionably a lot of talent on that side of the ball.

Za’Darius Smith was named an All-Pro this past season after tallying 12.5 sacks — the fifth most in football — and very easily could have been named an All-Pro in 2019 after recording 105 pressures and 13.5 sacks that season. Rashan Gary is a former 12th overall pick who began to put it all together in 2020, finishing 15th out of all edge rushers in Pro Football Focus’ ($) pass-rush productivity metric–an efficiency measurement.

And then, of course, there is Pro Bowler Kenny Clark, who is one of the better interior defensive linemen in the game. These three coupled with Watt would be a scary defensive front for even the best offensive lines.

In the secondary is All-Pro Jaire Alexander, who has developed into a shutdown corner right before our eyes. Along with Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage, who formed the best safety duo in the NFL over the second half of the season.

So yeah, I think it’s safe to say that the Green Bay Packers have this box checked as well.

The Money: Ehhh, we will see

This is the one box that we can’t say the Green Bay Packers check at the moment. Now, that isn’t to say they can’t make it work, but some serious cap maneuvering will have to take place.

According to Over the Cap, the Packers find themselves roughly $20 million over the projected salary cap, and once Green Bay sheds those excess dollars, we still have to take into account the cost to acquire Watt, any other potential signings, the draft class, the practice squad, and any potential in-season spending. Meaning, the Packers have to create a lot more than just $20 million in cap space.

Also, the big question in all of this is, what type of contract does Watt desire? He’s made it clear that he wants to play for a winner, so perhaps there is some flexibility, but don’t expect a hometown discount either. He’s still going to command a high contract value that Green Bay will have to find a way to squeeze into their current cap situation.

For the time being, we will continue playing the waiting game, and although the money is a question mark for the Green Bay Packers, the good news is that they quite easily check the first two boxes. And as I said, it’s not that the money can’t be figured out; it just won’t be easy.