SMOOTH, ON AND OFF THE FIELD
Deshaun Watson knows how to make a good first impression.
The Texans wrapped up their offseason work this week with a mandatory minicamp, and now (hopefully for all concerned, that is) there will be no news from them for a while.
What with all the non-event events it pushes during the offseason, the NFL may have invented fake news, but it hasn’t come up with a way to grab the spotlight for the six-week period between minicamp and training camp. The Texans had an odd offseason. General manager Rick Smith oversaw the franchise’s quietest-ever free agency period, then orchestrated the biggest trade in team history.
Make that the two biggest trades in team history.
Brock Osweiler out. Deshaun Watson in.
Now, I’m not saying the Texans are treating one quarterback better than they did the other one, or that they like one quarterback more than the other one, however …
Last June, Osweiler did not take a visit to the White House with his former team, because he didn’t want to miss a “voluntary” workout. On Monday, Watson and fellow rookie Carlos Watkins were given a ride on owner Bob McNair’s private jet to go to D.C. to celebrate Clemson’s national championship.
Texans vice chairman and COO Cal McNair and president Jamey Rootes, a Clemson graduate, and some other Texans staffers tagged along.
It was a nice gesture on McNair’s part to give the kids a ride, so Watson can scratch White House visit off his bucket list.
I’ll let you come up with your own jokes about why the Texans brass didn’t just wait until they won a Super Bowl to go to the White House. I’ve gotten enough flak from over there on Kirby already for simply asking whether the Texans should be embarrassed about the hookup.
Unless you’re a Forrest Gump or a Bill Belichick, a White House visit is a once-in-a-lifetime thing.
Me thinks Bob McNair has the political clout to get people into the White House if he so desired.
According to the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, McNair, whom the organization describes as a Republican superdonor, donated more money to political campaigns than all other NFL owners combined in the first half of last year.
Then again, why use political pull when President Trump will be there for at least four years, so one would think the Texans will earn an official invite to celebrate their championship by then, right?
I do wonder what Osweiler is thinking now, though. He passed on a White House visit to show the Texans how much of a leader he was, and they shipped him off to Cleveland, which has about as much chance of winning a Super Bowl as, oh forget it, I’m not even going to finish that comparison with a witty quip.
If Osweiler wants to go to the White House anytime soon, he’ll need to re-gift some of that $21 million McNair paid him last year and go as a superdonor.
Watson impresses
If the Texans got their No. 1 pick right, this week’s trip to the White House won’t be the last for Watson.
Thus far, he has been everything the Texas hoped he would be.
Teammates have been impressed by his all-in demeanor and marveled at his preparation. Studiousness is a character trait found in most great quarterbacks.
Texans coach Bill O’Brien was impressed that his young backupfor-now quarterback was even in the building over the weekend.
“Deshaun’s been very impressive relative to being a rookie,” O’Brien said. “Tom (Savage is) No. 1. He knows, like I said from day one, he’s got to earn it every day.”
O’Brien even claimed J.J. Watt is on the “earn it every day” plan too. Yeah, right. Watt is not about to lose his spot on the depth chart because of one bad day. We’ll assume Savage will have a longer leash than that slogan suggests, but Watson is coming.
Hot-shot rookies, the ones who think they’re all that, have it rough in NFL locker rooms. Watson hasn’t carried himself like one who thinks he is special.
He knows he has a lot to learn, and much to prove. But he is confident.
“Each time I take the field I’m going out there full-throttle, prepared, mentally sharp, physically ready, so whatever opportunity that steps in front of me, that I’m full ready for it,” Watson said.
He looks like he was built for this. He has definitely prepared for this.
He has looked poised in practice, his teammates say. And the unofficial word is he has looked better than the guy ahead of him on the depth chart.
In the NFL, respect has to be earned.
“He looks like a starter to me; looks like he’s done this before,” one Texan said. “It’s not real yet, but he looks very comfortable.”
Watson looked very comfortable at the White House, too.
Maybe next time he goes, McNair will have to charter a larger jet.