Legal battle muddies quarterback situation
I feel bad for Tyrod Taylor because he always seems to be overshadowed by higher-profile quarterbacks.
On Wednesday, when Taylor’s signing with the Texans became official, a lawsuit against Deshaun Watson dominated local and national news.
The lawsuit transcended sports because two highpowered, nationally renowned Houston attorneys — Rusty Hardin and Tony Buzbee — are on opposite sides.
Watson hired Hardin, and the massage therapist who has sued the quarterback hired Buzbee.
Hardin, who has developed a reputation as the attorney to the superstars, will battle Buzbee, a wealthy developer who
owns a law firm, ran for mayor and appeared on the cover of the New York Times Magazine.
As I’ve been writing and saying for weeks, I believe Watson will be traded, but I also think the sexual assault lawsuit could complicate the situation with the suitors who have inquired about his availability.
On Tuesday night, Watson posted on Twitter: “As a result of a social-media post by a publicity-seeking plaintiff ’s lawyer (Buzbee), I recently became aware of a lawsuit that has apparently been filed against me. I have not yet seen the complaint, but I know this: I have never treated any woman with anything other than the utmost respect. The plaintiff ’s lawyer claims that this isn’t about money, but before filing suit he made a baseless six-figure settlement demand, which I quickly rejected. Unlike him, this isn’t about money for me — it’s about clearing my name, and I look forward to doing that.”
Teams interested in acquiring Watson are going to want the issue resolved. The NFL also could investigate. It all could take weeks or months.
If Watson hasn’t been dealt by April 29, the first day of the draft, the controversy could drag into the regular season, when bad blood between the quarterback and the organization could get even worse.
If general manager Nick Caserio starts listening to offers, will teams back away or try to low-ball the Texans? Either way, the lawsuit could reduce the number of teams interested in a trade and make it more difficult for Caserio to maximize the return for a tremendous quarterback who’s 25 and under contract through 2025.
Watson’s situation has nothing to do with the acquisition of Taylor, who’s no stranger to being forced into the background by more prominent quarterbacks.
In 2018, the Browns traded for Taylor to be their starter, but an injury opened the door for Baker Mayfield, the first overall pick in the draft.
In 2020, Taylor was named the Chargers’ opening-day quarterback, but an injury paved the way for rookie Justin Herbert, the sixth overall pick, to replace him.
It’ll be interesting to see if Taylor becomes the victim of a third consecutive franchise quarterback.
We knew the Texans were going to sign a veteran quarterback, but we didn’t know who it would be until Tuesday, when Taylor agreed to a oneyear contract.
Even if Watson awakened Thursday with a case of amnesia and didn’t remember his trade demand, the Texans still will have signed a veteran. The only question was what quarterback Caserio and coach David Culley wanted to sign.
A.J. McCarron backed up Watson for the past two seasons. Besides Taylor, who signed to play for his fifth team in an 11-year career, the Texans will need another veteran since Watson wants to be traded and has vowed not to play for the team again.
At some point, Caserio is expected to add a third quarterback, probably an undrafted rookie. When the Texans report for training camp, they’ll need three quarterbacks on their roster. One of them won’t be Watson.
Because of Watson, there’s a lot of interest locally and nationally in the Texans’ quarterback situation. One reason fans should have some confidence in the Taylor signing is the familiarity Caserio, Culley and quarterback coach/passing game coordinator Pep Hamilton have with him.
When Taylor was a three-year starter (2015-17) in Buffalo, throwing 51 touchdown passes and 16 interceptions, Caserio watched him play several games against New England.
In 2017, when the Bills finished 9-7 and ended their playoff drought before losing at Jacksonville, Culley was Taylor’s quarterback coach. He started 14 games that season and finished with 14 touchdown passes and four interceptions.
In 2020, Taylor’s second season with the Chargers, Hamilton coached him and Herbert. When an injury forced Taylor to the sideline after one start, Hamilton did an outstanding job coaching Herbert, who had a terrific season and was voted the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Last year, the Chargers and Rams were featured on “Hard Knocks” in August. If you watched the HBO series, you learned Taylor’s first name is pronounced “Ta-rod” and not “Ty-rod.”
You also saw on the network’s annual series how complimentary Chargers coach Anthony Lynn was about Taylor and his role on the team. Lynn insisted Taylor would be the starter over Herbert until they thought the rookie was ready. And he was the starter until he suffered a rib injury after an opening victory.
It was disclosed a team doctor had administered a pain-killing injection into Taylor’s ribs and accidentally punctured one of his lungs. Herbert was thrust into the lineup, and the rest is Chargers history.
Now Taylor has been reunited with Hamilton and Culley. Barring an injury, expect him to be the starter when the season begins unless the Texans get a franchise quarterback out of a Watson trade.
If Caserio is in a position to draft a franchise quarterback such as BYU’s Zach Wilson or acquire a starter such as Tua Tagovailoa, Taylor would end up as the backup.
To get Wilson, Caserio would, in all likelihood, have to trade up to the second spot with the Jets. To get Tagovailoa, he would have to trade with the Dolphins, who have the third overall pick.
A best-case scenario for the Texans, of course, would be for Watson to suffer from amnesia and forget all about his trade demand, but we all know that’s not going to happen.