J.J. Watt gave the Bengals credit for finally making a real push on defense this offseason, but he also dragged Cincinnati fans right back to one of the franchise’s great what-ifs.
Speaking before Burnley’s recent friendly match, the former NFL star praised the Bengals’ move for Dexter Lawrence and said the kind of aggressive swing they made is exactly what a team has to do when it wants to give itself a chance. At the same time, he revisited the wild Burnley-related bet that had him joking about a possible return to the field in Cincinnati.
FOX19’s Joe Danneman noted the setup: Watt had made a bet with Burnley goalkeeper and Bengals fan James Trafford that he would play for Cincinnati if Trafford kept his shutout streak alive for the rest of the season. Trafford ran it to 11 straight matches with a clean sheet before finally allowing a goal after more than two months.
“You have to do everything humanly possible to give your squad the best opportunity, and making a move like that certainly signals that they're trying to do that. [...]
When I made that joke, I was just making a joke. And then all of a sudden [...]
I literally started training a little bit extra. Not really having any interest, but I was 1,000% serious.”
Watt’s comments were a sharp reminder that Cincinnati once had a real chance to land him long before the recent joke ever came up. During the 2021 offseason, the Bengals were active in free agency and added Trey Hendrickson, D.J.
Reader, Chidobe Awuzie and Mike Hilton. Watt was coming off a stretch in Houston that included severe injuries in three of his five seasons with the Texans, and he was available for any contender willing to make a run.
The Bengals were in position to do it, but two things stood in the way. One was the money tied up in cornerback Trae Waynes, who counted $15.8 million against the cap in 2021 while contributing little in five regular-season games. The other was Watt’s own preference for the Arizona Cardinals.
That choice kept him out of Cincinnati, even though the Bengals eventually became AFC champs. The article also points out that Watt’s presence could have changed the picture in Super Bowl LVI, at minimum improving Cincinnati’s odds. Watt later played only seven games in 2021, then finished 2022 with 39 total tackles, seven pass deflections and 12.5 sacks for a 4-13 Cardinals team.
The contract piece makes the miss sting even more. Arizona’s two-year, $29 million deal for Watt was structured so his 2021 cap hit was just $4.9 million, a number the Bengals could have fit even with Waynes on the books if they had used void years.
Cincinnati has at least shown some willingness to adjust this offseason, including a Burrow contract restructure. But the team still drew criticism for how it handled other deals, including the front-loaded structures on Boye Mafe and Jaelan Phillips.
Still, the biggest takeaway from Watt’s latest comments is simple: the Bengals finally made the kind of move he wanted to see, and he noticed.
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Bengals Finally Have The Interior Force This Gamble Demanded
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What the Bengals are buying is not just production, but gravity. Lawrence has long been the sort of interior force offenses have to account for on every snap, the player who can occupy multiple blockers and open up space for everyone around him. ESPNs 2026 preseason survey still placed him seventh among defensive tackles, a reminder that the league has not forgotten how disruptive he can be when healthy, and now Cincinnati is betting that reputation will translate into something bigger on its own line. [Read more 🡒]
National Analyst Just Put Bengals New Safety Duo In Elite Company
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Sports Illustrateds Matt Verderame took notice, slotting Cook and Battle among the leagues best safety tandems and putting Cincinnati in the same conversation as some of the NFLs most established back-end groups. Battles heavy workload and production last season already gave the Bengals a foundation, and Cooks championship background adds another layer of credibility, but the bigger question is whether the pairing can turn that recognition into the kind of defensive consistency that helps push Cincinnati back into the playoffs. [Read more 🡒]