WATSON WATCH
New regime’s camp questions take a back seat to embattled quarterback’s situation
With camp on horizon, team is not expecting star QB to show up.
When the Texans report to their first training camp under general manager Nick Caserio and coach David Culley on Tuesday, the first question that must be answered involves quarterback Deshaun Watson’s situation.
Will he, or won’t he show up? Watson isn’t expected to report with his teammates because he continues to seek a trade. But imagine the circuslike atmosphere if he shows up at NRG Stadium for the first time since last season and tells Caserio and Culley he’s ready to go to work.
There’s only one reason Watson would consider reporting — to avoid getting fined $50,000 a day for missing camp and three preseason games. Under terms of the collective bargaining agreement, teams can no longer forgive fines to entice a player to report.
There are other options to consider.
Will commissioner Roger Goodell cite the NFL’s code of conduct policy and place Watson on the exempt list, which amounts to a paid leave of absence? Goodell could keep Watson on the exempt list until the league concludes its investigation into the 22 civil lawsuits filed against him for sexual harrasment and assault.
Will the Texans work out a deal with Watson that would give him an excused absence, allowing him to stay away, continue to work out on his own and avoid the daily fines? They could place him on the reserve/ did not report list.
The Texans want to trade Watson. They’d trade him today if a team made them an offer Caserio liked, but that’s not likely as long as his legal issues haven’t been resolved.
Maybe a team would make a low-ball offer to take Watson and his legal problems off the Texans’ hands, but that would be foolish for Caserio to accept unless he’s just desperate to wash his hands of this ongoing headache.
When the time comes to trade Watson, Caserio has to make sure to maximize his value and take the best possible deal from the teams interested in him. And multiple teams continue to be interested.
Obviously, Watson doesn’t want to get fined, and the Texans don’t want him around. They have their three quarterbacks in Tyrod Taylor, Jeff Driskel and Davis Mills. It’s best for both sides to work out an agreement that allows Watson to stay home and not get fined until the time comes when Caserio trades him. Nobody knows when that time will be.
As long as Watson is still part of the organization, he’s going to be a distraction.
When Watson’s representatives informed the Texans he wanted to be traded the week after last season ended, he vowed to not participate in any team activity. He missed the offseason program, and he avoided his first fine when Culley cancelled the mandatory three-day minicamp.
Now camp is here, and the start of the season against Jacksonville is on the horizon, and this poker game between Watson and the Texans is heating up.
Will he, or won’t he?
We’ll soon find out.
Of the 50 new players Caserio acquired in the offseason, including 42 veterans, none is more important than Taylor. Culley, offensive coordinator Tim Kelly and passing game coordinator/quarterback coach Pep Hamilton have to do everything necessary to make sure Taylor is ready to go — mentally and physically — Sept. 12 against the Jaguars.
Taylor has to cultivate an on-field rapport with his linemen, receivers and backs that’s essential to developing the kind of consistently productive offense the Texans hope to have.
Driskel, who’ll be a heartbeat from becoming the starter if Taylor is injured as he was early in the season with the Browns and Chargers, has to get enough snaps to be comfortable in his backup role.
And then there’s Mills, the third-round draft choice who was Caserio’s first pick. He can’t be ignored in camp and preseason games while Taylor and Driskel prepare for regular season. If Mills is ready, at some point this season, the coaches have to give the quarterback extensive playing time.
Mills will be under the proverbial microscope on and off the field this season. Caserio and the coaches have to see enough of him to determine if they believe he can be the starter who replaces Watson.
If they believe Mills can become a franchise quarterback, it’ll make a huge difference in what Caserio does in the first round of the 2022 draft. If they don’t think Mills can handle that role, they’ll have to trade for a veteran or use their firstround pick on another quarterback next year.
The Texans won’t be practicing in shoulder pads Wednesday, but that doesn’t diminish the interest in watching the quarterbacks throw to so many new receivers, tight ends and running backs.
We’ll have to wait for the preseason opener at Green Bay to watch the running backs plow through the line and run over defenders to get a barometer of how much the running game will improve under Culley, who’s a stickler for balance on offense.
Meanwhile, the Watson waiting game continues.