Browns Digest

Steelers T.J. Watt Can't Stop Talking About Losing NFL Award To Browns' Star

After losing the AP Defensive Player of the Year award to Browns' pass rusher Myles Garrett earlier this month, Steelers star T.J. Watt questioned the merits of how the award is chosen.

Spencer German

In this story:

T.J. Watt can't stop thinking about losing out on his second career AP Defensive Player of the Year Award earlier this month.

The Steelers star came in second for the award earlier this month as he watched a rival pass rusher take home the honor in Browns' star Myles Garrett. 

In an appearance on the Pardon My Take podcast this week, Watt called into question how the winner was chosen, making it clear that he doesn't hold any ill-will toward Garrett.

Browns Flameout Johnny Manziel Details Tense Relationship With Fellow QB Brian Hoyer

“I don't have a problem with any players," Watt explained. Everybody's phenomenal. Myles, Micah [Parsons], they're great players, don't get me wrong. It's just that the voting, I want more clarity on how it all comes about. I don’t want any of it to come across as whining or complaining it’s just the matter of fact. You work so hard and when you’re not able to come away from a season with a Super Bowl you like to fall back on something.”

Watt went on to talk about the importance of awards for a player's legacy. It's not the first time he has commented on losing the honor either. Back on Feb. 8, the night Garrett was named the NFL's DPOY, Watt took to X to express his frustrations over coming in second for the honor.

Statistically, Watt did have a better season than Garrett, finishing with more tackles, tackles for loss, sacks, QB hits, defensed passes and interceptions. Garrett seemed to get the nod over his division rival this year though based on the deeper analytical numbers that showed how dominant he was this season. 

According to PFF, Garrett registered the highest pass rush win rate (27-percent) of anyone in the NFL.

Browns Receive Added Flexibility As NFL Announces $30 Million Boost In Salary Cap

While Watt seems to have a healthy respect for his pass rushing contemporaries, it sure seems like missing out on the award isn't sitting well with him. Perhaps it will add a little juice to the Browns-Steelers rivalry next season.

 

Published
Spencer German
SPENCER GERMAN

Spencer German is a contributor to the Northeast Ohio cluster of sites, including Cavs Insider, Cleveland Baseball Insider and most notably Browns Digest. He also works as a fill-in host on Cleveland Sports Radio, 92.3 The Fan, one of the Browns radio affiliate stations in Cleveland. Despite being a Cleveland transplant, Spencer has enjoyed making Northeast Ohio home ever since he attended college locally at John Carroll University, where he graduated in 2013.

Home/News