Welcome to Selfie-gate Part 2: Mettenberger vs. Watt

A bad joke Titans quarterback Zach Mettenberger made during a lighthearted interview in June has taken on a life of its own.

On Wednesday, Mettenberger explained he was only being "sarcastic" when he appeared to take a shot at J.J. Watt.

It appears to have stirred up the Houston Texans defensive end, and that's something Mettenberger probably shouldn't be doing under any circumstances.

Remember the fallout from Mettenberger's selfie before his first NFL start against the Texans in October? Watt called Mettenberger out, saying "this is the NFL, not high school" after making his life miserable for the rookie during Houston's 30-16 win over the Titans.

Mettenberger fanned the flames in Houston during an interview last month with CampusSports.net, which asked him about topics ranging from on his playing days at LSU to his favorite movie ("Anchorman") to off-field hobbies to Titans rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota. The interview wasn't made public until this week.

"J.J. had to say it's a bit high schoolish that I take selfies, and I think he still rags me on Instagram every time he posts a selfie," Mettenberger said. "But at the same time, if that's high schoolish, he got a letterman jacket made — a Texans letterman jacket. That's pretty high schoolish to me, don't you say?"

Watt fired back Wednesday morning after Mettenberger's comments surfaced on several sites, including ESPN.com ("Mettenberger Refuels Selfiegate"). "A lion doesn't concern himself with the opinions of a sheep," Watt posted on Twitter. "Time to attack the day."

Later Wednesday, in a text to The Tennessean, Mettenberger said he wasn't being serious about the topic during the interview: "Watch the video and you can see I was being sarcastic and joking. Pretty simple."

My take: It was another failed attempt at humor by Mettenberger, who ignited another Twitter-storm earlier this offseason with a "fight to the death" comment about Mariota and competition for the starting quarterback job.

Said Mettenberger to CampusSports.net: "The guy has a Heisman in his trophy case and that is something I don't. I have to be busting my butt to keep up with him. He is a big kid, he might be able to kick my butt."

Mettenberger's dig about the letterman jacket stems from a photo of Watt wearing one during a Texans' function in 2012. Several players wore the jackets leading up to a game against the Patriots.

Mettenberger posted his selfie from the locker room last season before a Week 8 home game against the Texans. After it was brought to Watt's attention, the three-time All-Pro sacked Mettenberger and celebrated by pretending to take a selfie.

The week after the game, Mettenberger told reporters he was going into "selfie rehab."

"I think he still rags me on Instagram every time he takes a selfie," Mettenberger said. "I got set up by a couple of my friends, sent a selfie out, it got leaked to the public. Then ESPN asked me to send a selfie to them pregame. It just got blown up."