Did J.J. Watt want to retire with Packers?

J.J. Watt rode off into the sunset as an active player after spending the 2022 season with the Arizona Cardinals but may have wanted to retire with a different club.

According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Watt suggested during an appearance on the "Rise and Schein" podcast with Adam Schein that he considered signing with the Green Bay Packers following the 2020 season. Watt, of course, grew up in Wisconsin and became a college football star with the Badgers.

"There’s a story for another day," Watt initially said about possibly joining the Packers during his career. 

"I can’t share," he responded when asked for more information. "That’s a story for like a memoir someday. There was certainly a thought for that. It’s just sometimes things don’t materialize in a way that it all is gonna — sometimes it just doesn’t materialize." 

Watt played for the Houston Texans from 2011 through the 2020 campaign until he received his release from that organization in February 2021. 

It was subsequently reported that winter that the Packers couldn't afford the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year even if they wanted to sign him, and Watt allegedly accepted less money than what other clubs had offered to join the Cardinals that offseason. 

"Sometimes, things just don’t materialize," Watt told Schein. "Sometimes things just don’t happen the way fairy tales are supposed to happen." 

Fans shouldn't expect Watt to call Green Bay about a contract this spring or summer, and not just because the Packers are resetting/rebuilding with 2020 first-round draft pick Jordan Love serving as their new starting quarterback. 

As shared by Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk, Watt told SiriusXM NFL Radio last week he is "very at peace" with his retirement decision and wants to spend time with his family and "explore some of these new opportunities."