JJ Watt reveals hilarious voice memo from Cardinals rookie who learned of his retirement

When JJ Watt announced his retirement from football with a simple tweet, he put the phone down and walked away from it for a bit.

“I knew it would be crazy,” he told reporters.

As you’d expect, Watt had plenty of messages and comments from friends, family and fans congratulating him on an incredible career and whatever else you could say to one of the greatest players on and off the court to ever do it .

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Houston Texans defensive end JJ Watt celebrates during the second half against the Buffalo Bills in Houston on Jan. 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith, File)

But while scrolling through his phone, Watt got a call.

“I’m scrolling through it and it’s this number I don’t recognize that FaceTimes me,” Watt explained to reporters. “So I’m like, ‘I’m not going to answer a FaceTime that I don’t know.’ So I just let it go to voicemail, and then I get a message from that number. And it’s a voice memo. I I say, ‘Who’s this number?’ So I play the voice note, and it’s—I want to play it so bad. I wish so bad.”

Watt went on to say it was “complete incoherence” from the sender of the voice memo, which he eventually revealed was Cardinals starting linebacker Jesse Luketa. And he only found out because he sent a picture.

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“A picture comes up, and it’s Jesse Luketa, our starting outside linebacker, and he’s got cotton balls on both of them. [cheeks]. He just got his wisdom teeth out,” Watt said.

The Cardinals then took the audio and decided to tweet it, and it’s as funny as Watt made it seem.

“He’s very tall,” Watt said with a laugh. “He has no idea what he’s doing.”

“JJ, JJ, at the end of the season, I need a signed jersey, JJ,” Luketa can be heard saying in the voice memo. “That’s all I wanted to call and tell you. That’s all. Bye, JJ”

Arizona Cardinals’ JJ Watt warms up before kickoff against the New England Patriots at State Farm Stadium on Dec. 12, 2022, in Glendale, Arizona. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

Luketa has played briefly for the Cards this season, as the seventh-round pick out of Penn State has seen mostly special teams. However, learning from one of the best in the game in Watt will most likely be a dream come true for the Ottawa, Ontario native.

Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury said the team had “no idea” Watt would retire. But with the Cardinals missing the playoffs and Watt about to finish his 12th NFL season, that thought was pondered and a decision made.

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Watt’s tweet breaking the big news read: “Koa’s first NFL game. My last NFL game at home. My heart is filled with nothing but love and gratitude. It was an honor and an absolute pleasure ,” he wrote.

Watt spent his first 10 seasons with the Houston Texans, who drafted him 11th overall in 2011.

Arizona will close out their season by facing the Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers in their final two games.

Arizona Cardinals’ JJ Watt leads the huddle before a game against the New Orleans Saints at State Farm Stadium on Oct. 20, 2022, in Glendale, Arizona. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)

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If Watt earns another half-sack in his final two games, he will earn an additional $1 million. That would certainly be a good way to walk into the sunset of his NFL career.

Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.