Do the Green Bay Packers make sense for J.J. Watt right now?

The Green Bay Packers should be doing everything they can to sign J.J. Watt after he was released by the Houston Texans on Friday.

Bring J.J. Watt home.

This will be the popular refrain from Packers fans, who after losing the NFC Championship Game last month, are searching for the final piece of their title puzzle.

Watt, 32 this offseason, could be such a man. After being released by the Houston Texans on Friday morning, Watt finds himself on the open market for the first time in his first-ballot Hall of Fame career. A native Wisconsinite, Watt signing with the Packers would make ample sense, but there are other factors to consider as well.

Is J.J. Watt a good fit for the Green Bay Packers?

For starters, Green Bay, like many teams with the shrinking salary cap, has cash flow problems. The Packers are projected to be $28 million over the cap. Only the Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons are in worse spots.

Green Bay also has key free agents of its own in center Corey Lindsley and running back Aaron Jones among others. Extending receiver Davante Adams could open up about $10 million in space, but outside of restructures to push money down the line, it’ll be tough for Green Bay to do much else.

In short, it would likely take a hometown deal — and a significant one, considering the expected interest in Watt — to land him for general manager Brian Gutekunst and the Packers.

Of course, anything remains possible. The Packers could push money into 2022 believing the cap will explode with the league’s pending TV deals and the potential of a 17-game schedule starting next year. Yet doing so only creates future cap headaches. There’s a balance to be struck.

Being so close to a championship in each of the past two seasons, it’ll be hard for Green Bay not to make a run at one of the league’s best defensive linemen. Yet if the Packers are going to do so, it’ll require a bit of magic from the front office and perhaps Watt willing to take a little less.