The Houston Texans and Deshaun Watson are eligible to negotiate a contract extension, but Bill O’Brien won’t give any updates on the progress of the talks.
The coach and general manager met with reporters via video conference on Friday and wouldn’t reveal where the two sides were at relative to the contrac extension.
“We’re working hard,” O’Brien said via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. “We feel so strongly about him in this offense, in this organization. We want him here for a long time. We’d love to have Deshaun here. We’re not going to talk about contracts in the media. We’d love to have Deshaun here for a long time. He’s here, he’s excited and we’re excited about the season.”
Unlike Patrick Mahomes, who signed a contract extension with the Kansas City Chiefs that puts with the AFC West club through the 2031 season, Watson is looking for a shorter term deal in the three to four year range, similar to what left tackle Laremy Tunsil was able to negotiate in the offseason.
O’Brien is optimistic Watson will remain under contract with the Texans, and needs the two-time Pro Bowler as he has led Houston to double-digit wins in the past two seasons, a feat no quarterback has accomplished with the Texans.
“He’s an excellent decision-maker,” said O’Brien. “He’s a very instinctive player from where he was as a rookie to where he is now, it has improved leaps and bounds and it will continue to improve.”
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