The Houston Texans have a 'win-now' mentality but we're not sure its 'unique'

The Houston Texans made some big splashes this offseason, acquiring Stefon Diggs, and Danielle Hunter in huge moves that seriously bolstered not just the quality of the players around them respectively, but also raised the expectations of the team as a whole. The Texans are in it to win it and why wouldn't they be? They have a top-flight quarterback, a deep rotation of pass rushers, a stunning ensemble of wide receivers, and a remade secondary that should be far improved.

Yes, they're going for it but why shouldn't they? They're following the paths of the Cincinnati Bengals, Kansas City Chiefs, and other teams who have star quarterbacks, so we're confused why Pro Football Focus called it a "unique" situation for the Texans.

Going for success early on a quarterback's contract is exactly what teams do. Quarterbacks are so overpaid these days that the best window for an elite player to contend for the Super Bowl is early in their careers when the team has the money to spend on guys and bolster the team around them. It's smart to utilize the early parts of their career.

PFF likes to think this is unique. They wrote a piece recently where they looked at the moves the Texans made this offseason, and pointed out they were "short-term" moves, designed to win now when their championship window had "just opened". None of these views are wrong, they were all short-term moves, but so many teams do this, especially right after a player emerges as a top guy.

The Cleveland Browns did it with Odell Beckham, acquiring him to start year two fo Baker Mayfield's tenure, and a move that in all honesty probably hindered his growth. A concern that Diggs may bring to the table when considering C.J. Stroud. To stay on Diggs for a moment, in another example that the Texans are just following trends, the Bills did this exact thing. The Bills made the deal for Diggs when they just entered their window.

The Dallas Cowboys went out and got Amari Cooper to give Dak Prescott a shot early in his Dallas Cowboys tenure.

We can find a dozen or so more examples from the last decade alone, so we're not buying that the Texans are doing anything "unique". In fact, one could argue that the only unique thing they're doing is keeping on an eye on the cap they're going to have in three or four seasons. Most teams with the spend-now mentality don't always worry about three or four years down the road.

The Texans are, which does in fact make them unique.