When J.J. Watt hit free agency after his legendary run with the Houston Texans, he wasn’t just another veteran looking for a paycheck-he was a future Hall of Famer with gas still left in the tank, eager to chase a ring.
At 32, Watt had already transitioned seamlessly from dominant edge rusher to elite interior disruptor, the kind of versatile defensive lineman who could still tilt the field in a playoff game. And he had one team at the top of his wish list: the Green Bay Packers.
But as Watt recently revealed on The Pat McAfee Show, that dream reunion with his home-state team never materialized-not because he wasn’t willing, but because the Packers simply weren’t interested.
“I wanted to play for the Packers in free agency,” Watt said. “I told my agency, ‘I don’t care what the number is.
Just give me a number so I can consider it.’ Two million, four million-whatever it is, put it in front of me.
J.J. Watt says he wanted to go home and play for the #Packers in 2021 as a FA and would’ve taken a $5M deal to do so, but the team had no interest and didn’t make an offer.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 17, 2025
Watt instead signed with Arizona on a 2-year, $28M deal.
(🎥 @PatMcAfeeShow)pic.twitter.com/R3Q0bImZLS
But they couldn’t get a number.”
Let’s pause there. This wasn’t a player holding out for top dollar.
This was a Wisconsin native, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, saying he’d take a significant hometown discount just for the chance to wear the green and gold. Watt even said he told his team that Green Bay was his “ideal situation,” and that he grew up idolizing Reggie White.
This was personal, not just professional.
And yet, the Packers never even put a number on the table.
“This was my real free agency,” Watt explained. “I said, ‘The ideal situation for me would be to go play for the Green Bay Packers… I’ll take a significant, significant hometown discount to play there.’
But I just needed to know what that looked like so I could weigh it against other options. I wasn’t given that opportunity.”
So what would it have taken to bring him home? According to Watt, not much.
“I can tell you, without question, right now, that $5 million would have gotten it done,” he said.
Five million. That’s not just a bargain-that’s highway robbery for a player of Watt’s caliber, even in the twilight of his career. And when you consider what the Packers could’ve looked like with Watt on that 13-4 squad, the missed opportunity feels even heavier.
Imagine Watt lining up next to Kenny Clark and Rashan Gary. That’s a front that could’ve wrecked game plans in January.
That’s a defense capable of flipping momentum in a playoff game. And in a year where the Packers came up short in the Divisional Round, it’s fair to wonder if Watt’s presence could’ve helped push them over the top-maybe even delivering that elusive second Super Bowl for Aaron Rodgers.
Instead, Watt signed with the Arizona Cardinals. The Packers stood pat. And now, with Watt retired and Rodgers gone, that window is closed.
It’s one of those “what if” moments that will linger in Green Bay lore. Not because Watt was asking for the moon-but because he wasn’t.
Because he wanted to be there. And the door never opened.