{"id":104441,"date":"2021-02-17T12:54:43","date_gmt":"2021-02-17T17:54:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=104441"},"modified":"2021-02-18T06:53:22","modified_gmt":"2021-02-18T11:53:22","slug":"cincinnati-bengals-stars-free-agent-j-j-watt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2021\/02\/17\/cincinnati-bengals-stars-free-agent-j-j-watt\/","title":{"rendered":"Cincinnati Bengals Stars Are Recruiting Free Agent J.J. Watt"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/bengals\/\" target=\"_self\">Cincinnati Bengals<\/a> need pass rushers to join the team in the coming months. However, a few members of Cincinnati&#8217;s roster want free agent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/W\/WattJ.00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">J.J. Watt<\/a> to be an answer at that position. Though the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2021\/01\/29\/cincinnati-bengals-biggest-needs-by-position\/\" target=\"_self\">Bengals have needs<\/a> up and down the roster, Watt would undoubtedly help the team fill a key spot. Additionally, he could rejoin a former teammate, another defect from the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/texans\/\" target=\"_self\">Houston Texans<\/a>&#8216; once-robust defense.<\/p>\n<p>[pickup_prop id=&#8221;4945&#8243;]<\/p>\n<h2>A Pair of Star Cincinnati Bengals Want Free Agent J.J Watt to Wear Their Stripes<\/h2>\n<p>The Cincinnati Bengals and star free agent talent aren&#8217;t always a perfect fit. However, with calls from key players on their roster and a <a href=\"https:\/\/bengalswire.usatoday.com\/2021\/02\/07\/bengals-cap-space-outlook-franchise-tag-estimates-salary-cap-figures\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ton of cap space<\/a>, luring J.J. Watt could be enticing. Star slot receiver <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/B\/BoydTy00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tyler Boyd<\/a> first recruited Watt to Cincinnati on Valentine&#8217;s Day with a <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/boutdat_23\/status\/1360894248728498177\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">late-night tweet<\/a>. However, when defensive tackle <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/R\/ReadD.00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">D.J. Reader<\/a> endorsed Watt coming to Cincinnati, things become more interesting. Reader, who j<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2020\/03\/17\/d-j-reader-agrees-to-deal-cincinnati-bengals\/\" target=\"_self\">oined the Bengals<\/a> last offseason on a four-year, $53 million deal, played the first four seasons of his career with Watt in Houston.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Wild place but the jungle is also wild.. \ud83d\ude01<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Dj Reader (@Djread98) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Djread98\/status\/1362089210182733825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 17, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>While the Cincinnati Bengals might not be the flashiest landing, Watt&#8217;s familiarity with Reader and the Bengals&#8217; upward trajectory could be appealing. Further, Watt would certainly help a team still trying to build a strong culture and defensive front. For one, the team needs to get better results with their pass rush.\u00a0 They ranked dead-last in the league with just 17 sacks all season. They also ranked 30th in the NFL with a 19-percent pressure rate. Last season in Houston, J.J. Watt added 17 quarterback hits and five sacks, solid figures for the veteran.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, there are rumors linking the free-agent Watt to all three of the Cincinnati Bengals&#8217; AFC North rivals. Watt&#8217;s brothers, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/W\/WattT.00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">T.J. Watt<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/W\/WattDe00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Derek Watt<\/a> play for the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/steelers\/\" target=\"_self\">Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> and he&#8217;s reported to be &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cleveland.com\/browns\/2021\/02\/jj-watt-is-seriously-considering-the-browns-as-one-of-his-options-because-they-have-what-he-wants-sources-say.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">seriously considering<\/a>&#8221; joining the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/browns\/\" target=\"_self\">Cleveland Browns<\/a>. Meanwhile, he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/ravens\/news\/ravens-watt020121\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">makes sense<\/a> to land with the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/ravens\/\" target=\"_self\">Baltimore Ravens,<\/a> a Super Bowl contender with an excellent defensive reputation. Persuading Watt to join Cincinnati helps the team get better and prevent facing him twice a season.<\/p>\n<p>Main photo:<br \/>\n<a id=\"KVs4agQVQfhN2OPMbM9iYg\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1293332012\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'KVs4agQVQfhN2OPMbM9iYg',sig:'klIFjnzYpEa5Xw0hJH6qXnMkw6TuAxJ_PqhPw9IUGBE=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1293332012',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Cincinnati Bengals need pass rushers and a few members of Cincinnati&#8217;s roster want J.J. Watt to be a free agent answer at that position.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3734,"featured_media":104479,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,36],"tags":[7343,61,202,40,1608,586],"class_list":["post-104441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bengals","category-nfl-news","tag-cincinnati-bengals-roster","tag-football","tag-j-j-watt","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-free-agency","tag-tyler-boyd"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3734"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104441\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}