The relationship between Deshaun Watson and the Houston Texans hasn’t been great at all since the end of the regular season, and every major media national outlet has given an opinion on if Watson will demand a trade or what a trade package will be.
It seems like everyone who knows someone within the Houston Texans organization has a source that is close to Deshaun Watson, but Watson himself has not yet said in a public platform that he no longer wants to be the starting quarterback of the Houston Texans.
On Tuesday, Deshaun Watson tweeted about “being patient,” and if that concerns his current thoughts about being with the Texans, that at least is a positive in what has been a negative offseason to date.
When Nick Caserio was hired as the general manager of the Texans earlier this month, that is when things seemed to “hit the fan,” so to speak. It does seem like even if Jack Easterby is staying with the franchise, Caserio could be able to make Deshaun Watson happier than he seems to be if he doesn’t mess up the head coach hire.
If the Texans hire the head coach that Deshaun Watson favors, all of this offseason drama could disappear, and the new era of Houston Texans football can include Watson. If the Texans make the incorrect hire for their next head coach, then who knows what the quarterback situation will be.
Caserio might have the most important decision in Houston Texans history to make because it will possibly determine if Deshaun Watson wants to stay with the franchise or request a trade to play elsewhere in 2021.
Deshaun Watson reason to stay No. 4: Duo with Cooks could be special
When Will Fuller was suspended for the final six games of the 2020 season, the number of Brandin Cooks was the focus of the offense, and the duo of him and Deshaun Watson began to shine within the Texans offense.
Cooks, who just completed his first season with the Texans and his seventh overall season in the NFL, played in 15 of 16 regular-season games, and in those game he totaled 1,150 yards on 81 receptions. Cooks averaged 14.2 yards per reception in ‘20 and scored six touchdowns.
Fifty-two of his receptions went for a first down, and with Watson as his quarterback, Cooks caught 20 passes of 20-plus yards and had three receptions of 40-plus yards.
Once Fuller was suspended, Cooks missed just one game (Week 14), but the final two games of the 2020 season are where the potential of Deshaun Watson-to-Cooks really broke out into what could be, as in Week 16 Cooks caught seven passes for 141 yards and one touchdown. In the game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Cooks averaged 20.1 yards per reception and had a 50-yard reception.
Then in the regular-season finale, against a Tennessee Titans team that was fighting for a division championship, Cooks had 11 receptions for 166 yards and two touchdowns. Cooks averaged 15.1 yards per reception in the Week 17 game, but he did have a best reception of 38 yards in what was a 41-38 Texans loss.
Cooks had one other game this past season for 100-plus yards, and that was in Week 5 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the first win of the season for Houston. In the first game of the post-Bill O’Brien era, Cooks totaled eight receptions for 161 yards and one touchdown, averaging 20.1 ypr.
Those three games alone show just how special the Deshaun Watson and Cooks duo can become, and it would be a shame if it lasted just one season.