Houston Texans receive low grades for botching NFL trade deadline

Nick Caserio did not really help the Houston Texans in the long run

Initial returns on these moves mentioned earlier are frustrating and low-balled it seems. It’s not like these players were say, the source of a bigger problem and you were shipping them off to avoid the media firestorm that surrounds them (Deshaun Watson). These were some of the more well-liked players on your team that fought each Sunday with an edge to them.

Instead, they were shipped off for little value in return. That’s clear enough. On top of that, not moving Brandin Cooks while you’re hitting the “abort season” button is a disservice to Cooks. Cooks had been in the top five of receiving yards leaders early on in the season when Tyrod Taylor was throwing the ball, but instead of dealing Cooks, Caserio opted to keep him.

Cooks isn’t set to become a free agent until 2023 per SpoTrac, and also has an $8K bonus for each game he is active in this season. So what will Houston do if Cooks plans to hold out?

In other news, Deshaun Watson not being traded despite what offers were rumored to be on the table is a missed opportunity to truly start fresh. It’s understandable to want a lot back for a franchise quarterback in his prime, but as we’ve written here on Toro Times, the longer Caserio waited the less there was going to be (in terms of offers) at the deadline.

So, the final grade for Caserio? I’d say an F, but that’s too harsh. A “D-minus” seems to fit perfectly.