Packers are one of teams interested in signing J.J. Watt

Maybe, just maybe, J.J. Watt will come home to Wisconsin.

After being released by the Houston Texans earlier this week, there is reported interest around the league in signing the three-time Defensive Player of the Year.

According to Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated, the Green Bay Packers are one of the teams that have shown interest.

And there’s good reason for it. Watt can help this defense take the next step. With some help needed along the defensive line and pass rush, putting Watt next to Kenny Clark, Rashan Gary, and Za’Darius Smith would undoubtedly strengthen the front seven.

There are of course some big questions about a potential move for Watt.

The first is the financial side of a potential signing. The Packers don’t currently have much cap room to work with and would be unable to offer the same kind of money as many other teams around the league. If Watt is OK with that and is willing to go for a lower offer but with the opportunity to win a Super Bowl, the Packers could have a chance to get a deal done.

Even then, Green Bay will need to create cap room. It’s a process the team has already started by restructuring David Bakhtiari’s contract this weekend, a move that saved over $8 million in cap room.

With this team coming so close to returning to the Super Bowl over the past two seasons, bringing in a player like Watt could be exactly what they need.

It would feel similar to when the Packers signed Julius Peppers in 2014. Peppers was in the later stages of his career but still made a huge impact in Green Bay’s defense.

He made 25 sacks in three seasons, was a Pro Bowler in 2015, and made one of the plays of the postseason in 2014 by saving a potential DeMarco Murray touchdown by punching the ball out, helping lead the Packers to victory over the Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round.

If the Packers could get a similar kind of impact from Watt, it would be a home-run move.