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It has been over ten weeks since we last saw Arizona Cardinals pass-rusher J.J. Watt on the field with his teammates due to a shoulder injury. That is all going to change on Monday Night Football, however, as Watt is set to return just in time for the Cardinals' road playoff matchup with their division rivals, the Los Angeles Rams. Watt announced his return via his personal Twitter account on Monday morning with this video:
https://twitter.com/JJWatt/status/1483104554996551681
In 2021, Watt was just as instrumental to his team's success as any other player in the league. At the time of his injury, Arizona was 7-0 and looking like a lock for the overall number one seed in the NFC and possibly even the NFL. After Watt's injury, however, the wheels completely fell off of the Cardinals proverbial wagon as the injuries to Watt, quarterback Kyler Murray (ankle), and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (MCL) pushed the Cardinals into the five-seed and an 11-5 overall record (4-6 without Watt).
Murray is seemingly almost back to full health and Watt has now returned, but Hopkins is still out with his knee injury. If the Arizona offense is hindered by the absence of Hopkins, they will need Watt's defense to step up and try and contain Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, Sony Michel, and the rest of the Rams' plethora of skill position players. It's going to be a tough battle for both teams, either way, so having the three-time NFL defensive player of the year, Watt, back on the field is a huge boost for the Cardinals.
