I give J.J. Watt credit for a lot of things. Obviously, he was an incredible football during his playing days (which may or may not be resuming at a stadium near you someday soon). Three Defensive Player of the Year awards say it all. He's an amazing philanthropist, having raised his NEXT million dollars for charity over the weekend at his J.J. Watt Charity Classic softball game.

Watt is also good at getting into the news, and doing so in a way that never seems nefarious and certainly has never been for anything criminal. The latest evidence of that is, well, THIS article! This is the third time this week I've written several hundred words about a possible Watt comeback to the Houston Texans.

To summarize, at his pregame press conference on Saturday before the softball game, Watt said that if DeMeco Ryans ever needed him to play for the Texans, Watt would be there. Ryans fed the beast further on Monday at the Texans charity golf tournament when he said "We need J.J. now!" Meanwhile, Texans GM Nick Caserio was asked about a Watt comeback on the "Pat McAfee Show" last week, and most definitely did not shut it down!

With that said, you may have questions about all this, so here are the most frequently asked "Watt comeback" questions I've received to my radio show on SportsRadio 610:

Is J.J. a free agent, or do the Cardinals still have his rights?
Watt is indeed a free agent. When he retired back after the 2022 season, he was finishing up a two-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals. He is free and clear to sign with whoever wants to pay him.

What would J.J.'s role be exactly?
Gone are the days where Watt is playing three downs a series, and 90 percent of the snaps in an NFL game. If he were to come to the Texans, more likely he would play about 25 snaps a game, at the most, and it would be mostly on passing downs. Think about a front four for the Texans, on third down, that goes like this — from left to right, Will Anderson, Denico Autry, J.J. Watt, and Danielle Hunter. Yowza!

What would this mean for his Hall of Fame timeline?
His five year waiting period would reset, and he would likely go in, at earliest, in 2030, as opposed to 2028. One nice byproduct of this would be Texans fans avoiding Patriots fans in Canton, as Tom Brady (barring his reneging on retirement) is set to go in in 2028.

Why would this season be any different than last season, when J.J. remained retired?
As my cohost Seth Payne, who played a decade in the NFL himself, pointed out on our radio show, it could very well be that Watt had not realized just how much he would miss football last year, so by the time the itch to play bit him last November (his own words), he hadn't been working out in preparation for playing football. Conversely, he's probably felt like all year in 2024 that he could come back and play, and thus, has been preparing accordingly.

What’s the over/under on a return date?
If he were to return, Watt probably comes back midseason, likely around Week 9 or Week 10, but that's pure speculation. I feel pretty confident that he has no desire to participate in a Houston-based training camp.

Is it as simple as ring chasing, and if so, who are the Texans main competitors?
Chances are, if Watt comes back, he will have a clear view of which teams are contending for something special. Thus, I would say, ask me this again after Week 6 or Week 7, when the standings start to take shape.

Is it a coincidence that this is all popping up after the softball game?
Not really. The game is one of the few offseason media availabilities for Watt, and I think there could be a method to the game's format, where Watt and his retired teammates took on a team of Watt's possible future teammates, the current Texans. It gave Watt an afternoon to mingle with the current Texans and continue to formulate an opinion on whether it makes sense to return.

Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.