We can bank on J.J. Watt tugging at the heartstrings of Pittsburgh Steelers fans at least a couple of times per year, and the two-time Defensive Player of the Year winner is at it again.
Since T.J. Watt emerged as a star for the Steelers shortly after being drafted in 2017, fans wanted nothing more than to see all three Watt brothers playing together in Pittsburgh. With fullback Derek Watt on the team from 2020 to 2022, the Steelers had two-thirds of the puzzle complete, but we never saw the trifecta.
On August 19, J.J. Watt shared a captionless post on social media of the Steelers' weight room and practice field.
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) August 19, 2024
The future Hall of Fame defensive lineman is in Pittsburgh and at the Steelers' facility; there's no question about that. But he's not looking to join the team.
Retired J.J. Watt is not joining the Steelers
Just before the end of his 2022 season as a member of the Arizona Cardinals, J.J. Watt officially announced his retirement from the NFL. Since then, the legendary defensive lineman has been asked numerous times about coming out of retirement, but Watt is happy where he is right now.
Back in May, Watt joked on The Pat McAfee Show that he would join the Houston Texans if it was an 'absolutely dire situation' and they needed someone to help out. Unfortunately, he didn't make the same offer to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Outside of winning a Super Bowl, Watt has accomplished everything a player could dream of in the NFL, and he has more personalized hardware than most players who will ever suit up in this league. After seeing four of his final seven seasons cut short due to injuries, Watt is perfectly content walking away from the game he loves.
Now J.J. is roughly a year and a half removed from his last NFL game. The 2011 first-round pick of the Texans was drafted the same year that Cameron Heyward joined the Steelers. Assuming he was in football shape, perhaps there are a few more drops of gas left in the tank.
Realistically, however, J.J. Watt joining the Steelers was never anything more than a pipe dream. It's clear that he still loves trolling Pittsburgh's fanbase, but he's not making an NFL comeback.