Texans GM addresses if J.J. Watt could come out of retirement

During a Thursday appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio was asked if there was any chance that defensive superstar J.J. Watt could come out of retirement to feature for his old team. 

Caserio didn't entirely shoot the idea down. 

"I have a lot of respect and appreciation for J.J.," Caserio responded, according to Matt Hladik of The Spun. "When I took the job in February of '21, he was one of the first players that I actually spoke to. Certainly respectful of J.J., his career, what he's done for the organization, what he's done for the city of Houston. I'm not going to speak for him about what he wants to do relative of playing football. I'll let him disclose that on your show."

Watt first joined the Texans as the 11th pick of the 2011 NFL Draft and earned three NFL Defensive Player of the Year Awards, five first-team All-Pro nods and the 2017 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award before he confirmed in February 2021 that he asked for his release from the organization. 

He spent his final two playing seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, and he made it known this past September he enjoyed "waking up feeling great" and celebrating holidays with his family in retirement. 

However, Watt raised eyebrows when he acknowledged this past winter he "definitely was monitoring" the situations involving the Pittsburgh Steelers and Houston Texans during the 2023 campaign. 

Steelers superstar pass-rusher T.J. Watt later said his brother was "happy he didn't have to come back and deal with all the soreness and things." 

J.J. Watt serves as a minority investor in English Premier League club Burnley and also works as an NFL analyst for CBS Sports. Earlier this week, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic noted that Watt will be part of CBS' "The NFL Today" program "on a part-time basis" during the upcoming season. 

Caserio joked that "we'll see" who unretires first between Watt and legendary quarterback Tom Brady. While either theoretically could play for a contender during the second half of the 2024 campaign, both seem committed to their media careers this spring.