Getty Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans looks on before the game against the Tennessee Titans. J.J. Watt last played for the Houston Texans in 2020, spending the final two years of his 12-year NFL career with the Arizona Cardinals . Watt remains one of the franchise’s greatest icons, and he offered strong thoughts on Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans . Ryans and Watt were teammates on the Texans in 2011, the latter’s rookie season and the former’s final campaign with the franchise as a player.