TEMPE, Arizona – While teams continued to try JJ Watt during his 16-day free agent period, the three-time All-Pro said all signs were pointing him to the Arizona Cardinals, with whom he signed a two-year contract on Tuesday.
He chose cardinals Monday from a group of “four or five” finalists after an aggressive recruitment from Arizona. Watt said he was “definitely close” when he made his final decision, which he described as “difficult.”
“I give them credit; they attacked from all angles,” Watt said of recruiting cardinals at his introductory Zoom press conference on Tuesday. “It was, I think, [general manager] patience [Keim] and [owner] Michael [Bidwill] and everyone did a great job, that is, there were players, there were coaches, there were people who are not football, who came to my ear and tried to convince me to come down here and tell me all the things wonderful about it, and not just on the field, but also sending me pictures of Paradise Valley and everything off the field.
“So their recruiting pitch was strong and hard, but at the end of the day, I told my wife, you know, all the signs continued to be directed back here in Arizona and, in my short time, here, on the ground, I can tell you that I am absolutely satisfied and that I could not be happier with my decision. “
Watt, who turns 32 on March 22, said that “there are a lot of interesting things about what’s going on here in Arizona,” and specifically mentioned the Cardinals’ extremely talented young quarterback, who can do big things ”.
Kyler Murray was among the reasons Watt cited for signing with the Cardinals. Watt wrote to Murray on Monday: “I’m here because I believe in you.”
– Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) March 2, 2021
Murray posted a photo on Twitter of the moment when the two first met in July 2015 at an event in which Murray was named Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year.
“It’s pretty wild now to be on the same team,” Watt said. “But, yes, obviously I saw his career. He had an incredible career. He is an incredible athlete and what he managed to achieve, he was a winner in every stage of his life and that is not a coincidence.
“You’re a winner because of the way you work and because of the aura you give and because of the talent you have, and I think he has all those things and will continue to win and continue to be successful.”
Watt also said that the reunion with wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, his teammate with the Houston Texans from the time Hopkins was drafted in 2013 until he was replaced after the 2019 season, played a role in the Cardinals winning the Watt lottery. Like Vance Joseph, the Cardinals’ defensive coordinator, who coached the Texans on the defensive back in Watt’s first three years in the NFL.
Watt said Joseph has a defensive scheme similar to the one Watt played under Wade Phillips in Houston – “which is a system I’m very familiar with and very comfortable and excited to play.”
The Cardinals announced Tuesday that Watt will wear the number 99, the same number he had with the Texans. The number was withdrawn in honor of Marshall Goldberg, who played for the Chicago Cardinals from 1939 to 1943 and again from 1946 to 1948 after his career was interrupted for a time in the Navy during World War II. , but Goldberg’s daughter, Ellen Goldberg Tullos, gave Watt permission to wear the number on Tuesday.
Watt did not know that the number was withdrawn when he chose the cardinals and saw that no one had been issued to him during a quick half of the list. One of his high school friends broke the news to him and told him about Goldberg’s story, which led Watt to start looking at other numbers. But when Watt woke up Tuesday morning, he read a report from TMZ that had spoken to Tullos. Watt later called Tullos to hear for himself that she could wear her father’s number.
Watt hopes that one of his products bearing Goldberg’s number is that his name, story and legacy will become better known. Watt also offered to donate to the Marshall Goldberg Fund for Traumatic Brain Injury Research.
Watt thanked the Goldberg family on Twitter and spoke about what the family blessing meant at the press conference.
I want to thank the Goldberg family for their kindness in giving me the opportunity to wear the number 99 in Arizona, which was previously retired in honor of Marshall Goldberg.
I am humiliated and honored to wear it, and I will do my best to make them proud and honor Marshall accordingly.#Red Sea pic.twitter.com/zoXCHZfTP4
– JJ Watt (@JJWatt) March 2, 2021
“We had a great conversation,” Watt said. “She was super sweet. She said she thought her father would be honored and that her father, he was in touch with the players, so he said he thought he would want to wear it.
“So I’m very honored and touched that they thought of me that way and that I can do that, so I told him that I would do my best to honor him and make him proud and proud of his legacy. . “