One of the greatest players of our generation has announced his retirement.
Arizona Cardinals lineman J.J. Watt announced in a tweet Tuesday morning that he will retire after this season.
"Koa's first ever NFL game. My last ever NFL home game. My heart is filled with nothing but love and gratitude. It's been an absolute honor and a pleasure," he tweeted along with a picture of him holding son Koa and standing next to wife Kealia at Sunday night's game between the Cardinals and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Watt, 33, has played 12 seasons in the NFL, 10 with the Houston Texans and the final two with the Arizona Cardinals. He is a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, having won the award in 2012, 2014 and 2015.
He has never made a Super Bowl, but is still a sure-fire Hall of Famer and arguably one of the best to ever play the game.
With two games left, Watt has 111.5 career sacks, which is 38th in NFL history. With another half sack, he could pass his former Cardinals teammate, Chandler Jones.
The 33-year-old Watt was among the premier defensive players in the NFL during the early 2010s with the Houston Texans. The former Wisconsin standout was a first-round pick in 2011 and was dominant from 2012 to 2015, finishing that four-year stretch with 69 sacks to earn all three of his AP Defensive Player of the Year awards.
Watt spent his first ten seasons with the Houston Texans and the past two with the Arizona Cardinals. He's played some of his best football with the Cardinals over the past few weeks, with three sacks against the Broncos and two tackles for a loss on Christmas night against the Buccaneers.
