J.J. Watt serves up cruel reminder of dashed dream Bengals scenario

The Cincinnati Bengals could've used a lot of help on defense in recent years. Better late than never! They finally addressed that side of the ball this offseason in a big way.

NFL legend J.J. Watt has publicly praised the Bengals taking the initiative at long last, highlighting the Dexter Lawrence trade in particular as a great move. However, in the process of doing so, Watt also brought up a bit of a sore spot for the Cincinnati faithful.

Remember when Watt made a ridiculous bet that almost came true — and would've forced him to play for the Bengals in 2025? Yeah, he was not kidding around.

J.J. Watt is spot-on with his Bengals takes, but taunts fans with prior '1,000% serious' comeback bid

Watt is a minority owner in the English soccer club Burnley F.C., and in an interview prior to their recent friendly match, he spoke about the Lawrence blockbuster and his would've-been return to the gridiron,.

Key context before Watt's quotes, via FOX19's Joe Danneman: Watt made a bet with Burnley goalkeeper and huge Bengals fan, James Trafford, that he'd play for Cincinnati if Trafford maintained a shutout streak for the rest of the season. Although he made it 11 straight matches with a clean sheet, Trafford finally let in a goal after over two months.

"You have to do everything humanly possible to give your squad the best opportunity, and making a move like that certainly signals that they're trying to do that. [...] When I made that joke, I was just making a joke. And then all of a sudden [...] I literally started training a little bit extra. Not really having any interest, but I was 1,000% serious."

J.J. Watt could've been in a Cincinnati Bengals uniform far sooner — and won a Super Bowl

Unfortunately, Watt missed his best shot to play in the Queen City when he had his pick of the litter.

During the 2021 offseason, the Bengals were uncharacteristically active in free agency. They signed future stud pass rusher Trey Hendrickson, exceptional defensive tackle D.J. Reader, No. 1 cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, and stud nickelback Mike Hilton.

Watt had dealt with severe injuries in three of his five seasons with the Houston Texans before he entered the open market. Any contender would've loved to have him, and the Bengals — not considered a contender at the time, but ultimately the AFC champs — could've afforded him.

Two big factors kept Watt out of Cincy. First, the Bengals' awful investment in cornerbackTrae Waynes, who was a team-high $15.8 million cap hit in 2021 and made a minimal impact in five regular-season games.

Secondly, Watt had his heart set on the Arizona Cardinals of all organizations. Poor J.J. If he'd chosen the Bengals, he'd at least have a capable quarterback in Burrow to overcome all the franchise dysfunction, as opposed to Kyler Murray.

Could the Bengals have won Super Bowl LVI with Watt, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, on the roster? Their chances would've been enhanced at the very least, methinks.

Watt was limited to seven games during the 2021 campaign, yet he rallied back to go out in style with 39 total tackles, seven pass deflections, and 12.5 sacks in 2022 for the 4-13 Cards. Had he joined the Bengals instead and stayed healthy, he clearly had some serious juice left in the tank.

What stings even worse is the fact that the Cardinals smartly structured Watt's two-year, $29 million contract to make him only a $4.9 million cap hit in 2021. The Bengals could've figured out a way to make that fit on their books even with Waynes in the fold if they understood the concept of void years. Alas, they don't.

To be fair, they may be a half-decade late, but Cincinnati actually pulled the trigger on a Burrow contract restructure this offseason. Even if their tendency to frontload free-agent deals still reared its ugly head on Boye Mafe, much to my chagrin!

I KNOW! I KNOW! The Bengals have some dudes to pay in the next couple offseasons. Still. Could've maximized this window even more.

Beggars can't be choosers. At least they more than redeemed themselves with the Lawrence trade that Watt had praise for!

....Is it too late for J.J. to consider one last ride in Cincinnati though? If Aaron Donald is really about to come back for the Los Angeles Rams and join forces with Myles Garrett, what harm could it do to add Watt to the Bengals' revamped d-line rotation if he just does a bit of hardcore training to get ready?

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