San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
It’s time for Houston to end the drama and trade Watson
HOUSTON — To avoid making an ugly situation even uglier, it’s time for general manager Nick Caserio to listen to the offers the Texans are getting for quarterback Deshaun Watson.
So far, Caserio has been saying thanks but no thanks to teams inquiring about Watson. That response has to change sometime soon.
To Watson’s credit, he finally met with coach David Culley. Watson preferred a Zoom conference call, and Culley agreed.
Watson explained why he’s determined to be traded. Culley listened and explained the plan that he, Caserio and executive vice president of football operations Jack Easterby want to make the Texans a playoff team again.
Watson listened and reiterated that he won’t play for the Texans again. And he appears willing to sit and lose millions in fines and unpaid salary to get what he wants.
The Texans appear willing to force Watson’s hand. That’s not a healthy way of doing business.
Yes, Watson is under contract through 2025 because of the $156 million extension he signed six months ago, but teams cut players under contract all the time. Now Watson wants to cut the Texans and start over with a new team. And that’s what the Texans should do.
Let’s make something perfectly clear: the Texans don’t want to trade Watson. They love Watson. So do the fans. Not only is Watson a tremendous player, but he’s a team leader who donates time and money in the Houston community. He’s earned leaguewide respect on and off the field.
Caserio, Culley, Easterby and chairman/CEO Cal McNair know they have a better chance of rebuilding with Watson as their starting quarterback than they do starting over with a rookie or a veteran acquired in a trade.
The Texans are trying to sell sponsorships, suites, club seats and tickets at a time when faith in the franchise’s management has plummeted to an all-time low. McNair knows they’re a more attractive team with Watson than without him.
But at some point, reality has to set in.
If Watson is traded for multiple high draft choices and one of them is spent on a potential franchise quarterback, the Texans would be much more appealing than if Watson were sitting out, creating a colossal distraction with AJ McCarron and Josh McCown as their top two quarterbacks. Talk about a tough sell.
Caserio should prioritize the Jets and Dolphins as the leading candidates to acquire Watson and get the AFC East rivals bidding against each other.
Add Watson to the Miami lineup after a 10-6 season, and the Dolphins might be favored to overthrow Buffalo as the AFC East champions and compete for the Super Bowl.
Add Watson to the Jets with new coach Robert Saleh, and they would earn immediate respect in the New York/New Jersey area and around the NFL, steal some of the Giants’ thunder, and become an eventual playoff contender a lot faster.
Watson’s no-trade clause could limit Caserio’s options. There are reports the Jets and Dolphins are two of his preferred teams, though he hasn’t said anything publicly.
The Jets have the second overall pick in the draft. Trading Watson to the Jets is the only way the Texans would be guaranteed of getting the second-best quarterback prospect in the draft behind Trevor Lawrence, who’s ticketed for Jacksonville.
Or perhaps Caserio thinks quarterback Sam Darnold just needs a change of scenery to live up to his stature as the third overall pick in 2018. Darnold will be playing in his fourth season, and he’s still only 23.
To entice Caserio to make the deal, the Jets could start with Darnold, their first-round picks this year (second and 23rd overall) and their first- and second-round picks in 2022. That would be three ones, a two, Darold and perhaps defensive end Quinnen Williams.
The Jets would groan, of course, but they’d have Watson for more than a decade at least.
Watson likely prefers the Dolphins because they’re a better team than the Jets. If Caserio was high on Tua Tagovailoa last year with the Patriots, he could ask for the secondyear quarterback, two firstround picks (third and 18th overall) and two second-round picks (36th and 50th overall) this year. And demand another high pick in 2022.
It never hurts to ask, right? By the way, the Dolphins got the third pick in the first round and the fourth pick in the second round from the Texans in the trade for offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil and former receiver Kenny Stills.
If the Texans do open a line of communication with teams interested in Watson, it’ll create a feeding frenzy the likes of which the NFL has never seen, but that’s what they have to do. It’s unprecedented for a great quarterback who’s 25 and under contract for five more years to become available.
Today, the Texans say Watson is not available, but who knows what tomorrow will bring? For the Texans, it needs to bring some sanity. If it doesn’t and they let him sit, it could be a decision that has repercussions for years.
The Texans are rebuilding anyway, and even though they don’t want to trade Watson, it’s time to move on from him and start over with a new quarterback.