Houston Texans Odds: Texans Release J.J. Watt, How Does It Affect Their Futures Odds?

Houston Texans Release J.J. Watt

It seems impossible to imagine a Texans team without J.J. Watt on the defensive side of the ball, but that will be the reality of the situation this season. On Friday, the Houston Texas released All-Pro defensive end J.J. Watt, ending his 10-year career with the team.

Watt was drafted 11th overall in the star-studded 2011 NFL Draft that featured names like Cam Newton, Von Miller, Marcell Dareus, AJ Green, Patrick Peterson, Julio Jones and Tyron Smith, to name a few.

Since then, he’s earned three Defensive Player of the Year Awards, made the Pro Bowl and All-Pro teams five times, led the NFL in sacks twice and made the 2010s All-Decade Team.

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Watt’s contributions to the city of Houston go well beyond the field of play. The city was absolutely devastated by Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Watt responded by raising an incredible $37 million for Houston to recover. His original goal was just to reach $200,000.

 Seeing the Houston Texans without Watt on the field will be extremely strange, but what does it mean for their betting odds? Let’s take a look.

Houston Texans Odds: Impact of Watt’s Release on Houston’s Odds

Following the release of J.J. Watt on Friday, there are three futures markets in play for the Houston Texans. The AFC South Champions, AFC Champions and Super Bowl Champions markets.

Houston Texans AFC South Odds

As far as the AFC South Championship market is concerned, the Texans are currently expected to finish third in the division, behind the Titans (-115) and the Colts (+130). As of Friday, the Texans are +1200 (Click to bet) to win their third division title in four years. Those odds imply a 7.7% chance of winning the division following the release of Watt.

Houston Texans AFC Title Odds

As far as the conference is concerned, the Texans aren’t being given much of a chance by oddsmakers to make a run for the crown. As a matter of fact, they have the worst odds in the entire AFC, at +6600. Even the Jets (+5500) and Jaguars (+5000) are expected by oddsmakers to have a better shot at making it to the Super Bowl than the Texans.

Houston Texans Super Bowl Odds

You can probably guess that by releasing Watt, the Texans didn’t do themselves any favors in the Super Bowl market. They are tied with the Detroit Lions, who just traded their franchise QB, with the worst odds in the entire NFL to win the Lombardi Trophy. At +15000 after the release of Watt, oddsmakers are giving the Texans a 0.7% chance of winning it all.

But, if you, for some reason, like Houston to win a Super Bowl, make sure you grab that +15000 number. The Texans can be found as short as +7000. A $100 bet on +15000 wins you $15,000, but a $100 wager on their +7000 price would see you win just $7,000.

Houston Texans Odds Following J.J. Watt’s Release

J.J. Watt's Next Team Odds

As of now, it's pure speculation trying to guess where J.J. Watt will play next season. But, our friends at DraftKings have already released their odds for where he’ll start the year, and leading the way is the Pittsburgh Steelers at +400. Pittsburgh makes sense. The Steelers are known to fortify their defensive line, and his brother, T.J., is a budding superstar in the Steel City.

Following the Steelers are the Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills, Seattle Seahawks and Las Vegas Raiders, in that order. If you have any kind of hunch where J.J. Watt will be playing next year, head over to DraftKings now and get in on the action

Pittsburgh Steelers @ +400 (Click to bet)

Green Bay Packers @ +900 (Click to bet)

Buffalo Bills @ +1000 (Click to bet)

Seattle Seahawks @ +1000 (Click to bet)

Las Vegas Raiders @ +1100 (Click to bet)

Miami Dolphins @ +1100 (Click to bet)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ +1100 (Click to bet)

Indianapolis Colts @ +1200 (Click to bet)

Kansas City Chiefs @ +1300 (Click to bet)

Tennessee Titans @ +1300 (Click to bet)