Texans news: No surprise Deshaun Watson won’t attend OTAs

While it’s still voluntary, it shouldn’t come as a shock Texans superstar quarterback Deshaun Watson is opting out from the team’s OTA sessions.

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is holding his ground.

The lengthy standoff between Wilson and the Texans front office doesn’t appear to be going away soon. And as ugly and confusing as things have gotten, particularly in light of Watson’s off-field accusations of sexual misconduct, there doesn’t appear to be any sort of olive branch between the three-time Pro Bowler and the Houston franchise.

So it shouldn’t be a surprise Watson will continue to stay away from organized team activities, which kick off on-field practices on May 26.

NFL.com’s Jeremy Bergman, citing NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, reported the news Watson won’t report and is still requesting to be traded.

Houston’s general manager, Nick Caserio, was relatively coy when pressed about Watson’s immediate future with the team, saying, “We’re just glad that we have the players that we have in the building.”

Not Watson. Certainly not for now, and it’s probably a situation that won’t go away anytime soon.

Texans offense will be doomed without Watson

Houston has stockpiled a number of backup-caliber quarterbacks in the wake of Watson’s trade request from earlier this offseason. In addition to the veteran journeyman, Tyrod Taylor, the Texans have rostered rookie quarterback Davis Mills out of Stanford and, most recently, Jeff Driskel after parting ways with the recently signed Ryan Finley.

Taylor had some success under head coach David Culley when both were with the Buffalo Bills together in 2017. And Mills saw his own draft stock rise considerably, going from a mid-Day 3 pick to being selected in Round 3.

But without a decent crop of legitimate pass-catching weapons to support whoever wins out under center, it sure seems likely Houston is going to have an awfully tough time moving the ball through the air.

This has led many to think the Texans will own the NFL’s worst record this season, and even Pro Football Talk’s Peter King didn’t hesitate to put the team dead last in his latest offseason power rankings.

Pretty tough.

Of course, things would improve if Watson somehow elects to end his standoff, either because the Texans have made amends or for whatever other reasons pointing to him playing. Even with Watson, though, Houston doesn’t figure to be anything more than a rebuilding squad with a disgruntled quarterback.

And that doesn’t set things up for a fun and exciting season at all.