J.J. Watt not happy with teammates
It has been a disastrous 2020 campaign for the Houston Texans, who came into the season with high expectations. The Texans looked poised to have a big year after impressing in the playoffs last season. However, the team ended up firing head coach and general manager Bill O’Brien early in the season after a terrible start and were never able to recover.
After losing their 11th game of the season on Sunday, superstar defensive end J.J. Watt could not hide his frustration any longer. Following the 37-31 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Watt let his teammates know exactly how he felt about the situation the team is in.
“We’re professional athletes getting paid a whole lot of money,” Watt told reporters, via ESPN. “If you can’t come in and put work in in the building, go out to the practice field and work hard, do your lifts and do what you’re supposed to do, you should not be here. This is a job. We are getting paid a whole lot of money.
“There are a lot of people that watch us and invest their time and their money into buying our jerseys and buying a whole bunch of s—, and they care about it. They care every single week. We’re in Week 16 and we’re 4-11, and there’s fans that watch this game, that show up to the stadium that put in time and energy and effort and care about this. So if you can’t go out there and you can’t work out, you can’t show up on time, you can’t practice, you can’t want to go out there and win, you shouldn’t be here. Because this is a privilege. It’s the greatest job in the world. You get to go out and play a game. And if you can’t care enough, even in Week 17, even when you’re trash, when you’re 4-11. If you can’t care enough to go out there and give everything you’ve got and try your hardest, that’s bulls—.”
The 31-year-old has spent his entire 10-year career playing in Houston with the Texans, being named to the Pro Bowl five times. He also holds franchise records in most career sacks and most career forced and recovered fumbles, winning six division titles during his time with Houston.
“There are people every week that still tweet you, that still come up to you and say, ‘Hey, we’re still rooting for you; we’re still behind you.’ They have no reason whatsoever to,” he continued. “We stink. But they care and they still want to win and they still want you to be great. That’s why. Those people aren’t getting paid. We’re getting paid handsomely. That’s why. And that’s … that’s who I feel the most bad for, is our fans and the people who care so deeply and the city and the people who love it and who truly want it to be great. And it’s not. And that sucks as a player to know that we’re not giving them what they deserve.”
This will be the first season since 2017 that the Texans will not be in the playoffs. They finish their season against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday afternoon.
