NFL icon J.J. Watt greenlights Texans DEs to rock his jersey number
NFL icon J.J. Watt donned the No. 99 jersey throughout his football career, in college and the pro league. The defensive end spent 10 years with the Houston Texans from 2011 to 2020, and although the franchise didn't officially retire his jersey number, the shirt has been kept out of circulation.
Nonetheless, Watt appears to have no issue with any other Texans players who want to use his No. 99 on the team. On Friday, Watt responded to a fan on X who asked whether the three-time Defensive Player of the Year would be affected if the current crop of Texans DEs, featuring Danielle Hunter or Will Anderson Jr., wanted to rock his old No. 99 jersey.
"Anyone can wear 99, I don’t mind. A number doesn’t make the player, performance does. There’s a long snapper wearing 99 at Wisconsin right now. Will I be watching those snaps a little closer tonight because of it? Damn right," Watt tweeted in response.
Earlier this year, the Texans signed Danielle Hunter in the free agency. However, Hunter, who wore No. 99 with the Minnesota Vikings for nine years, said he would not continue using that number in Houston out of respect for Watt.
“Man, 99, that’s JJ’s number,” Hunter said. “He’s done a lot with that number. I’m not going to mess with it. To be able to do what he’s done with that number for the community and the Texans, I’ll just leave that number to him. So I’ve decided to possibly go with No. 55.”
Watt was selected by the Texans in the first round of the 2011 NFL draft. In 10 seasons at Houston, he racked up 531 tackles, 282 hits, 101.0 sacks, 61 passes defended and 25 forced fumbles.
Arizona Cardinals un-retired No. 99 jersey for J.J. Watt in 2021
When J.J. Watt joined the Arizona Cardinals in 2021, there was speculation on which jersey number he would wear. The Cardinals had previously retired the No. 99, in honor of late running back Marshall Goldberg.
However, Watt spoke with Goldberg's daughter, Ellen Tullos, personally to get permission to wear the No. 99 at Arizona. The Cardinals then un-retired the No. 99 jersey for Watt, who played two seasons with the team before hanging up his cleats.