Burnley FC: JJ Watt reacts to "unbelievable" James Trafford exploits | OneFootball

The Clarets shareholder won't be coming out of retirement to feature for Trafford's favourite NFL side

Burnley stakeholder and former legendary NFL defensive end, JJ Watt, paid tribute to the Clarets' defensive efforts in recent weeks, as well as referencing James Trafford's dream to see him come out of retirement for the Cincinnati Bengals, which ended in victory against Cardiff City on Tuesday night.

The defensive success which Scott Parker's side have enjoyed in the Championship season has been spoken about at length, with Cardiff's January recruit, Yousef Salech, the first player to score against Trafford since Kwadwo Baah of Watford back on December 21st - a record-breaking run which lasted 1,132 minutes of second tier football.

Such developments provided a narrative away from what was a pivotal win for Burnley in the automatic promotion race, with Josh Brownhill's 11th goal of the season and a close-range finish from Maxime Esteve on 40 minutes proving the eventual difference, as they took full advantage of their game in-hand and closed the gap on second-place Sheffield United to two points with 11 games of the season remaining.

However, taking to Instagram post-match, Watt provided a sense of humour as well as praising the East Lancashire side's defensive solidity, which has still seen them reach a remarkable milestone of 25 clean sheets in 35 games.

JJ Watt references James Trafford dream as Burnley concede vs Cardiff City

The storyline involving the 35-year-old former Houston Texans icon and the ex-Manchester City shot-stopper stems from an Instagram message on December 28th, when the Cumbrian asked Watt if he would end his retirement and feature for the Bengals in the 2025 NFL season.

The American obliged to do so on the basis that Trafford didn't concede a goal in the second half of the league season, before the Clarets eventually broke the second tier record for consecutive clean sheets, which eventually reached a tally of 12 games before ending in South Wales, meaning he won't have to play at the Paycor Stadium.

Watt then stated the fun he had engaging with the Bengals support on social media channels, hoping that they would remain interested in developments at Turf Moor.

"Cincinnati, that was a fun ride," he stated on his Instagram story. "Hope you enjoyed getting to know a bit about Burnley and our squad."

"What an unbelievable run from Traff and the boys. An improbable bond formed from across the pond," Watt added. "Bengals fans are welcome on Turf Moor any time."

He concluded: "As for me, a feast & a drink await."

Scott Parker issues "surprised" claim as Burnley's defence breached

Speaking to the press after a crucial victory, Parker admitted that whilst his main focus was totting up a 19th league win of the season, there was a small tinge of surprise that Salech was able to provide the Bluebirds with hope of mounting a comeback in their fight to stave off relegation.

"At the end you need resilience and the ability to dig in and we had that. I thought the energy was impressive. We looked like a proper team who understood their roles," the Clarets boss said via BBC Sport.

"It's a shame we conceded tonight but I'm more pleased that we won. I was a little bit surprised we conceded, we will have to review it."

Next up for the side hot on the heels of the top two is a home encounter with fellow relegation-threatened outfit Luton Town, who they defeated 4-1 on their return to the second tier, although both former Premier League sides have endured extremely contrasting fortunes since.