JJ Watt surprised the entire NFL world on Tuesday when he announced he would be retiring from the NFL at the end of this season - even his own team.
Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury revealed he had no clue the 33-year-old future Hall of Famer was planning to hang up his cleats.
'Happy for him. He seems like he's in a really good place. We had no idea that was coming, but what a tremendous player and person and an all-time great in this league,' Kingsbury told reporters Wednesday.
Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury told reporters he had no idea JJ Watt was planning to retire
The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year revealed the news in a post featuring a photograph of himself with his wife, soccer player Kealia Ohai, and their new-born son, Koa, following Monday's loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Arizona
JJ Watt pictured with his wife, soccer player Kealia Ohai, and their new-born son, Koa
'So to see him play the way he played the other night and then hear that, I think it's just a special time for him, the organization, the entire NFL to kind of celebrate him these last two weeks.'
The 4-11 Cardinals have two more games left this season, both of which are on the road. This week they face the Atlanta Falcons followed by their season finale against the San Francisco 49ers.
Along with being officially eliminated the team also lost star quarterback Kyler Murray to a torn ACL, leaving the team with a grim outlook.
The Cardinals' poor season has not stopped Watt from his normal stellar production, recording 9.5 sacks and 33 tackles through 14 games to go with a fumble recovery and a forced fumble.
Watt has recorded 9.5 sacks and 33 tackles through 14 games in his final year in the NFL
Along with being a five-time Pro Bowler and first-team All-Pro, Watt is the only NFL player ever to record multiple 20-sack seasons, both of which came during his decade with the Houston Texans. He's played the last two seasons with the Cardinals.
He also retuned to play this season after a cardiac issue required him to have his heart shocked into rhythm earlier this season, which he said he only revealed to the public after finding out someone close to him leaked the information.
'The only people that knew were my family and people in the building,' Watt said.
'Injuries, I don't care. You leak injuries. That's football. But this one was very emotional for me, so it was upsetting.'
Despite the heart scare, Watt still had three tackles and two key pass breakups in that win over Carolina.
'It shows you what kind of a person and competitor and human being he is,' Kingsbury said afterwards.
'He's special. We're all obviously worried when he wasn't around for a couple of days handling that. I think it was definitely inspiring for all of us. He played at a really high level and continues to amaze that type of person and player that he is.'
Watt revealed a heart issue in October, saying he had gone into atrial fibrillation on September 29 and needed to have his heart shocked back into rhythm
English (United States) ·