Arizona Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt announced his retirement on Tuesday morning and the NFL world was shocked.
In a sweet post, he reminisced about his infant son Koa attending his first NFL game on Christmas night and that it happened to be his last home game as well. He ended the tweet by saying that his heart was filled with gratitude and that it was an honor and a pleasure to play in the National Football League.
Looking to predict NFL playoff Scenarios? Try our NFL Playoff Predictor for real-time simulations and stay ahead of the game!
His younger brother T.J. Watt, who is the linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the league's reigning Defensive Player of the Year, replied with his own sentiment, which included a GIF from the office of Steve Carrell getting teary eyed.
J.J. and T.J.'s brother, Derek Watt, a fullback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, also replied to his older brother's announcement. Sharing that his brother had an unbelievable career and that he couldn't wait for the Pro Football Hall of Fame ceremony in five years, which is when he would be eligible to be inducted.
With two games left in the season, the Cardinals will be on the road against the Atlanta Falcons and then the San Francisco 49ers.
J.J. Watt comments on brother T.J.'s latest accomplishment
The Watt brothers have made a name for themselves in the National Football League. While J.J. and T.J. have been stars on defense, Derek is a standout special teams member and full-back.
Last week, after T.J. recorded his 75th career sack in the National Football League, J.J. Tweeted about his youngest brother's accomplishments and what it felt to be on the same list as him. The list had the fastest NFL players to set to 75 career sacks. At the top was Reggie White at number one with J.J. at number two and T.J. at number three.
J.J. tweeted that he was 'sandwiched' between his idol and the child that he used to eat cereal next to when he was growing up. He continued by saying how cool it was and also hard to comprehend at the moment.
"Sandwiched between my childhood idol and a child I ate cereal next to everyday growing up.This is really cool and hard to comprehend."-via @JJWatt
T.J. made the list despite missing seven games this season with a pectoral injury that he suffered in Week 1 of the season and then undergoing arthoscopic knee surgery while on the Injured Reserve list.