The Houston Texans news is they have made interesting decisions this offseason.
So exactly how do you feel about the decisions made by the Houston Texans front office and all of the Texans news happening this offseason? Some of the decisions have been great, some not so much, but all in all the Texans have made those final decisions, and we don’t have to agree with all of them, either.
For example, no longer having DeAndre Hopkins on the roster isn’t one of the best decisions made this offseason. Each day for the Texans is most likely a stressful 24 hours of decision-making by General Manager Bill O’Brien — as that appointment was another important decision made by the front office this offseason. There is also the fact that some of Texans’ decisions made will affect the play of some of the very best players on the roster, including J.J. Watt and Deshaun Watson.
Sure, the Texans news is they are reigning back-to-back AFC South champions, and even won a playoff game a season ago, but as teams around them in the division have made some big changes as well, winning this season isn’t a guarantee.
Don’t get me wrong, some of Texans news on the decisions made to add players to the roster have been exciting. For example, if wide receiver Brandin Cooks is able to stay on the field in 2020, he’ll produce for the franchise, but he did cost the Texans a second-round pick, so there are some high expectations for him.
There is also the addition of David Johnson at running back from the trade of the aforementioned Hopkins. There are other decisions made by the GM O’Brien that have left some thoughts rolling around. For example, was enough done for the defense to improve, or did the Texans do enough for the defensive line, and were most of the front office choices made the right call?
The remainder of the offseason needs to focus on finding the final pieces to the Texans’ puzzle for the 2020 season, but next are four offseason decisions that should be described as the worst up to this point near mid-June.
4. Not getting a fourth year in Laremy Tunsil contract
As great as it was for the Texans to re-sign Laremy Tunsil for the next three seasons, getting a fourth year from the left tackle to anchor the offensive line and protect the blindside of Deshaun Watson would have been ideal.
Having Tunsil in a Texans uniform is great and the franchise should be glad he’s on the roster, but they most likely cost themselves more money in the future. If Tunsil is dominant at the left tackle spot the next three seasons, when it comes time to re-sign him again, the check will be even larger than the three-year, $66 million deal ($50 million guaranteed) that he just signed.
Tunsil is a player who was selected to the Pro Bowl this past season, and he had a Pro Football Focus grade of 75.8 in 2019 as he allowed just three sacks that same season.
Again, having Tunsil on the roster for an extended period of time was some of the best Texans news this entire offseason, but after thinking about the deal, one more extra year would have made the contract that much better for the Texans.
3. Decisions made at defensive tackle
The nose tackle position for the Houston Texans is of great importance in their 3-4 scheme. Seeing D.J. Reader go to the Bengals for the largest contract in league history at the position wasn’t fun for the Texans, but even worse Texans news is they’ve yet to sign a veteran free agent to take his spot.
Not passing a physical seems to be the reason the Texans news that Timmy Jernigan didn’t become an official free agent signing, but if he’s not healthy that decision is understandable. Still, there are many tackles available currently that something could have been in place by now.
Granted, adding a player during the COVID-19 pandemic has been tricky, to say the least. The money Reader commanded was a very large price (four years, $53 million), but losing Reader will be tough for the Texans to overcome in the early stages of the season.
From the looks of the current roster, the Texans news will be that rookie Ross Blacklock could be the starter in Week 1, and that would mean the second round pick (40th overall) would make his NFL debut against the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
All in all, the Texans hopefully will add to their interior defensive line with a veteran for Blacklock to learn from, but that veteran has to be able to produce, too. One player who could be that choice is Damon Harrison, who is currently a free agent.
2. Making Bill O’Brien the GM and head coach at the same time
Some of the biggest Houston Texans news this offseason has been that Bill O’Brien not only stayed on as the head coach of the Texans, but he was also promoted as the official general manager of the team this offseason.
After thinking about this process of a head coach also being the general manager of the team, it might not be what’s best for the franchise in the long run. In this day and age, with so much going on for an NFL team on and off the field, how many important responsibilities can one person be in charge of?
It was also kind of seen that emotions can cause decisions to be made with trades being made and such, which can be a concern to some. O’Brien and every single NFL head coach have enough on their plate as it is when it comes to just that job, but now as being the dual head coach and general manager, there is a reason most NFL teams have two people, not one person, in those most important roles.
With this being the first official year with O’Brien being both head coach and general manager, time will only tell how well or not so well this decision will go, but the elephant in the room is one of the first decisions he made once the title was official that sparked fireworks throughout the NFL.
1. Trading DeAndre Hopkins to Arizona Cardinals
It shouldn’t matter what the personal feelings are between a head coach and player when it comes to being professional in the NFL. There is a job to do, and to be honest, both could have handled the situation better than it turned out for the Texans.
When Bill O’Brien made breaking Texans news headlines this offseason when he traded DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals for David Johnson and draft picks, well, to this day many Texans fans aren’t happy about the decision.
So much has been said about this decisions that it doesn’t need another full rehash, but from all things considered, it came down to contract issues and even some personal feelings. It doesn’t make a lot of sense when you have an elite wide receiver like DeAndre Hopkins to work with him on some sort of new deal, especially with Deshaun Watson as a quarterback. That is what happened, Hopkins — an All-Pro receiver at that — was traded, and the rest is wait-and-see.
Not often does one of the very best at his position get traded in the offseason, but now the Texans have to prove they made the right choice as they will be looking to Brandin Cooks and Will Fuller as their top two receivers for the 2020 season.
The Texans won’t be the same at wide receiver without Hopkins, and though Fuller and Cooks are good at what they do as a wide receiver, neither are at the same level of what Hopkins offers.
For that, the Texans’ worst decision was trading Hopkins, instead of O’Brien and the wide reciever getting together and working out some sort of agreement and contract issue.