JJ Watt is starting his retirement, and the former Wisconsin star is already in line to be honored by the team most associated with his decorated NFL career.

The Texans announced with a video narrated by CBS’ Jim Nantz, a Houston native, that Watt would join the Ring of Honor at NRG Stadium. In a video on the team web site, Watt shared that 12 years ago he knew little about Houston, such as barbecue pickup trucks.

Now on October 1, Watt will join Robert C. McNair and Andre Johnson in receiving the most prestigious award a member of the Texans family can get.

 

Marc Vandermeer, the voice of the Texans, wrote that Gary Kubiak once said: “He’s kind of like a quarterback where if you need a big play, he makes it.”

One of those came in the 2019 playoffs when he sacked Josh Allen to stop a drive and the stadium erupted. “The team came back from a 16-0 deficit, thanks in large part to the fuse he lit. He left us for another team in 2021. But he’ll always be a Texan.”

Watt was among the premier defensive players in the NFL during the early 2010s with the Texans. The former Wisconsin standout was a first-round pick in 2011 and was dominant from 2012 to 2015, as he finished that 4-year stretch with 69 sacks, to earn all 3 of his AP Defensive Player of the Year awards.