Browns Rumor: Cleveland in the mix for J.J. Watt but not the favorite

The Browns want J.J. Watt but does he want the Browns? A new report claims Watt may be going North but not to Cleveland.

Justin James Watt is a free agent for the first time in his professional career. The Houston Texans released the player fans call J.J. Watt in February, and since then just about the entire league has started to get in line to talk to the vaunted free agent. Watt is considered by many to still be a top-shelf player, and even though his stats don’t reflect it, his game isn’t too far removed from his last season as Defensive Player of the Year and the Browns would benefit greatly from adding him.

The only problem is they held off on trading for him, when they could’ve secured his rights for at least one year. Now they have to pitch him and hope that he has no other ties he’s more invested in. According to Josina Anderson, the Browns are going to look into adding the defensive and make a plan on how to convince him to join.

Anderson though points out that it’s up to him where he goes next;

"Obviously it’s going to depend on where J.J. wants to go & the price tag"

Enter Mike Fisher, who writes;

"The Green Bay Packers signing All-Pro defensive lineman J.J. Watt is the “most likely” scenario for the just-released former Houston Texans All-Pro, a source close to the situation tells TexansDaily.com."

This makes sense, as he’s from Waukesha, WI, and went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, aka the University of Wisconsin, the home of the Badgers, where Watt and his brother T.J. and Derek all played football at.

The big issue, as Fisher writes, is that the Packers are strapped financially.

Another possibility is the Pittsburgh Steelers, where his brother Derek and T.J. play; though that isn’t definitive as Watt clearly wants a Super Bowl ring and the Steelers are tumbling down the hierarchy of the NFL.

The Browns will remain a player, as they have the cap space, a need, and were one game and one touchdown from the Super Bowl. The Browns need help getting to the quarterback and stopping runners at the line of scrimmage, which Watt can still do well.