When the Houston Texans first released franchise icon and future Hall of Fame defensive end J.J. Watt, the K.C. Chiefs were one of the first teams to be mentioned as a potential destination for him to land. Now that the dust has settled on the transaction wire, it looks like the Chiefs are nowhere close to being in the running for Watt’s services.
The latest rumors surrounding Watt seem to position the Chiefs out of view on a number of fronts. First, ESPN reporter Dianna Russini is reportedly already looking at offers with a ceiling of $16 million.
That sort of total was never going to fly in K.C.—or even anything close—given that the Chiefs already have two players making even more than that annually in Frank Clark and Chris Jones along the defensive line. The Chiefs need impact talent, yes, but they also need that to be cost-controlled for one reason or another—meaning a slotted rookie deal or a veteran willing to play on the cheap.
Even if the Chiefs could somehow entice Watt to forgo that sort of money in free agency from other teams, the reality is that there’s no smoke coming from Arrowhead about this. Russini’s report has a list of finalists already up for the job with other teams in orbit around that, a list that includes the Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans, and Green Bay Packers.
The Chiefs should be considered a long shot to sign J.J. Watt.
At this point, other teams have far more money to offer and some of those are contenders, too. The Chiefs aren’t the only team thinking Super Bowl in 2021, so Watt doesn’t necessarily have to take the discount path to try for a ring.
Moving forward, it seems as if the Chiefs are going to have to look elsewhere for any help opposite Clark this offseason. The team is likely to watch several players walk in free agency, including Alex Okafor, Tanoh Kpassagnon, and Taco Charlton. Given the middling performance at the position as it was, the Chiefs are likely going to make a heavy investment in the draft if the right player sits available to them.