Bill O’Brien and Deshaun Watson both had encouraging things to say about the long-term viability of Watson as a Houston Texan.
Whether the Houston Texans and star quarterback Deshaun Watson can come to a new contract extension figures to be a question that will linger and hang over this upcoming season from start to finish — that is, unless a deal gets done sooner rather than later.
Watson is poised to enter the fourth year of his rookie deal this fall. Originally, that contract would have expired following this season, but the Texans picked up the fifth-year option on it at the end of April.
The buzz coming out of Houston is that both Watson and the Texans would like to get a long-term contract extension done well before the superstar gets anywhere near the end of his current pact.
Complicating matters is the enormous deal recently signed by Kansas City Chiefs megastar Patrick Mahomes, who just agreed to a 10-year contract extension that’s worth over $500 million in total potential earnings.
While no one expects Watson or the Texans to try and eclipse that deal in either length or total value, it’s still a barometer that Watson and his agent will no doubt reference during their negotiations with the McNair family and Texans head coach/general manager Bill O’Brien.
Encouragingly, recent reports suggest that both Watson and O’Brien are all-in on the young quarterback staying in Houston for a very, very long time.
According to The Spun’s Matt Hladik, Watson told The Houston Chronicle that he is “locked in on being a Texan.”
"“I’m here. I love the organization. I love the McNairs. I love the city. I love the fan base. I’m a Houston Texan.”"
Bill O’Brien also seems determined to lock up Watson for the foreseeable future
In the same article from the Chronicle, O’Brien references the fact that negotiations have indeed been ongoing toward a new deal with Watson.
"“We’re working hard. We feel so strongly about him in this offense, in this organization. We want him here for a long time. We’d love to have Deshaun here.”"
While certainly nothing is guaranteed, it’s at least got to be reassuring to Texans fans that both their head coach/general manager and their star quarterback himself want Watson to stay in Houston for a very long time.