After four seasons, Deshaun Watson no longer wants to be a member of the Houston Texans, as reports are that the “soon-to-be” franchise quarterback of the Texans has formally requested a trade from the only franchise he’s ever played for.
The first question that comes to mind when thinking about the report from Adam Schefter of ESPN that Deshaun Watson no longer wants to be associated with the Texans is … Who can blame him?
Since last offseason when the Texans made Bill O’Brien the general manager of the franchise and Jack Easterby came along as well, the Texans haven’t been a well-run franchise, and the blame there needs to go to the CEO Cal McNair as he is the one in charge.
The situation with Deshaun Watson goes all the way back to last offseason when the Texans traded his very best wide receiver, DeAndre Hopkins, because the two parties didn’t see eye-to-eye on things. What franchise in their right mind trades an All-Pro wide receiver in the prime of his career for a backup running back, a second-round pick and some other lower-tier picks?
The answer is … the Texans, that’s who.
Deshaun Watson officially has requested a trade from the Houston Texans, per league sources. He actually did it weeks ago. Their new head-coaching hire, David Culley, has not and will not alter Watson’s thinking.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 28, 2021
When the trade of Hopkins happened it had to be given the benefit of a doubt because there needed to be some sense of positivity that they front office knew what they were doing. Maybe after the news that Watson wants out, the only one who knew what they were doing was Hopkins.
This past season, Watson had a career year, led the NFL in passing yards and seemed to be the face of the franchise for years to come. Then the head coach search happened, Easterby stayed with the franchise, and now there is this mess that the Texans are in where one of the Top 2 players on the team wants traded again.
Look in the mirror, members of the Texans front office… you all messed up, and now you have set your franchise back years because of it. This is nothing against new head coach David Culley or even new general manager Nick Caserio, because they have the task to clean up the mess made by others higher up on the pay scale.
It is unfathomable that any front office that believes the way to better their franchise is to trade an All-Pro receiver one year, and the following offseason trade the franchise quarterback, has any way of smart thinking when it comes to football matters.
The Texans would also have never been in this mess if they hadn’t traded two first-round picks and a second-rounder for Laremy Tunsil. This isn’t on Tunsil, either, because he’s been great for the franchise, but the reason he was brought in was to protect Deshaun Watson, and now the QB wants out of town.
The inexperienced Cal McNair has blindly and foolishly stood behind Jack Easterby for more than a year. Deshaun Watson has now requested a trade after DeAndre Hopkins was traded, Bill O'Brien was fired as HC/GM, hiring of Nick Caserio was directly influenced by Easterby, etc.
— Brian T. Smith (@ChronBrianSmith) January 28, 2021
More questions about Deshaun Watson and the Houston Texans
Now other questions are: will the Texans trade Tunsil since his contract isn’t for the long term, and on the defensive side, why would J.J. Watt want to stick around in this rebuild mode, either?
The 2021 Houston Texans are going to be a whole new team to watch when September arrives. There will be a lot of changes to the roster from now to then. Some of the changes will be exciting, and when — not if — Watson is traded, that change will be heartbreaking, angry and confusing all in one, because none of this had to happen.
These changes are happening to the franchise because on-the-field production doesn’t seem to be the top priority of the Houston Texans. There is no other reason to trade a player like Hopkins last year, or for a player like Watson to want out this offseason.
It is going to be a long road ahead, but if the front office wants to place blame on what this franchise has become or will become by trading a franchise quarterback, it is because of their poor decision-making skills.
Now the fan base of the Texans are the ones who have to live with these terrible football decisions made by the ones who are in charge.