All Steelers

J.J. Watt Nearly Unretired for Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers could have landed another Watt brother.

Noah Strackbein

In this story:

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers were able to get through their season with a pretty healthy defensive line outside of Cam Heyward's groin surgery. But if they needed some help, J.J. Watt was waiting for the opportunity. 

During an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, Watt revealed he was keeping an eye on the Steelers and Houston Texans in case there was potential he could return from retirement. Ultimately, it didn't happen.

“I definitely was monitoring the Steelers and Texans situations, but it never escalated to any sort of actual potential," Watt said. "It would have been an absolute dream come true. To play with my brother would have been great. It’s just, realistically … They were all set. They’ve got great players."

Watt's visit to Acrisure Stadium was a bit of a turning point. After seeing his brother T.J. play for the Steelers, he realized how much he missed the emotions of gameday in the NFL. 

"When I went to Pittsburgh and visited T.J. and watched him get ready for the game, that was hands down the moment, where I was like, ‘This is the first time I definitely miss playing,’" Watt said. "It was halfway through the year. … I felt all those emotions before the game, and then the next morning, he woke up all sore, bruised up, has to go get treatment and everything. I popped up, went for a nice walk and had a coffee. It was great. I don’t have any of those things."

Watt is officially a full year retired, and says he's "1,000% done," but if the Steelers need some help this offseason, maybe they'll give him a call. You never know what a conversation does, and with T.J. still in his prime, a chance to play with his brother may be a turning point to get him to Pittsburgh. 

Make sure you bookmark All Steelers for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

Steelers Learn Trade Price for Justin Fields

Steelers Open to Trading for QB

Former Steelers RB Joins UFL

Steelers Interviewing QB Coach Candidates

Steelers Work Out Two Players

Published
Noah Strackbein
NOAH STRACKBEIN

Noah is the Publisher for All Steelers, Inside the Panthers (InsideThePanthers.com) and Inside the Penguins (InsidethePenguins.com), and is the host of All Steelers Talk (YouTube.com/AllSteelersTalk). A Scranton native, Noah made his way to the Pittsburgh sports scene in 2017. Now, he's pretty much full-yinzer.

Home/News