The Green Bay Packers didn’t sign J.J. Watt, but they’ll have to face the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and his new team in 2021.
Watt officially signed a two-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals on Monday, ending his search for a new home after he was released by the Houston Texans last month.
The 2021 schedule isn’t released, but the Packers will go to Arizona to play Watt and the Cardinals at some point next season. It’s also possible the two teams could meet in the NFC playoffs, especially with seven teams from each conference now qualifying for the postseason.
NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers and the Packers made easy work of Watt and the Texans in 2020, scoring 35 points during a 15-point win in Houston. Rodgers threw four touchdown passes, including three in the first half as the Packers build a big lead. Watt isn’t joining forces with Rodgers, but he’ll get another shot to slow him down in 2021.
The Cardinals finished 8-8 and in third place in the NFC West a season ago. Kliff Kingsbury’s team started 5-2 but lost six of their final nine games, including defeats in Week 16 and 17 that cost the Cardinals a shot at the postseason.
Watt will join former Texans teammate DeAndre Hopkins and Pro Bowl quarterback Kyler Murray in Arizona. The Cardinals haven’t made the playoffs since 2015.
The Packers are 1-4 in their last five games against the Cardinals overall and haven’t beaten the franchise since 2012.
