It looks like J.J. Watt will continue wearing No. 99 after all, after he spent years with those digits on his back at Wisconsin and with the Houston Texans.
The newest member of the Arizona Cardinals joined a team that had retired No. 99 — it was worn by Marshall Goldberg, who was a star with the then-Chicago Cardinals in the 1940s. It seemed like Watt would have to choose a different number.
But as we learned on Tuesday, Goldberg’s daughter gave Watt her blessing for the defensive end to wear her dad’s number, which meant the Cardinals would have to unretire it (or, I guess, they’d keep Goldberg’s 99 retired but allow Watt to wear it).
According to video posted by the Cardinals, Watt also spoke to Ellen Goldberg Tullos and got the green light:
55 and 99.@chanjones55 x @JJWatt pic.twitter.com/lOKvAgUtF9
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) March 2, 2021
No. 99 for the Arizona Cardinals. pic.twitter.com/Dg9EpICEsu
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) March 2, 2021
It’s such a rarity to see something like this happen! But there you go. Watt must be happy.
