J.J. Watt: Retirement not imminent, unless maybe it is

The spate of early retirements in the NFL has provoked concern on multiple levels. On one hand, there’s the question of health and uncertainty about what exactly this game is doing to the bodies and minds of its players that is forcing them to think retirement is preferable to another season. On the other, more selfish hand, there’s the question of just how long we’ll get to see our favorite players suit up.

If your favorite player is J.J. Watt, we’ve got good news. Or perhaps bad news. Or perhaps no news at all. In an extensive interview with The MMQB’s Peter King, Watt delved into every aspect of his 2015, and cast a wary eye ahead at 2016 and beyond:

J.J. Watt. “I have no idea when it’s going to be, when I’ll retire,” the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year said. “I’m not saying it’s not going to be two, three, four years. But I’m also not saying it’s going to be nine, 10, 11 years. I literally do not know the answer. What I do know is I’m going to continue to train my ass off. I’m going to continue to work to be the best player in the world, and whenever that doesn’t sound fun to me anymore, that’s when it’s over.”

Watt is coming off one of the best seasons in his five-year career, one crafted against impossible odds. Last year, Watt played with a litany of injuries that individually would have left the rest of us cringing in the fetal position: sports hernia, torn groin, broken hand, herniated disc. Amid all that, all he did was win the NFL Defensive Player of the Year for the third time. Lawrence Taylor, King notes, played 13 seasons and won the awrd three times.

Watt’s thus now in elite company, but also in a dicey position. He’s no longer just a player. He’s now the face of a franchise. More than that, he’s an entire corporation unto himself. With Peyton Manning retiring, Watt is one of the NFL’s most visible and viable pitch men, both for the league itself and for an array of products and sponsors. That’s not a trivial matter; no disrespect to the second-string Titans cornerback who retires early, but Watt’s eventual departure from the league will cause tidal waves, not ripples.

The full article is well worth a read, from the breakdown of Watt’s workout schedule to the fact that his groin tear effectively ended his season in the Texans’ playoff loss: “I doubt I would have been able to play past that game,” he said. “That’s when I tore the final [groin muscle] off the bone.” Gnnnnaagghh. We salute you from the couch, Mr. Watt.

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