Deshaun Watson requests trade from the Texans

Quarterback Deshaun Watson has requested a trade from the Houston Texans.

Houston sports fans’ nightmare is now here.

Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson has requested a trade from the team, not even 24 hours after the team hired 65-year-old David Culley as its new coach.

According to Adam Schefter from ESPN, Watson requested the trade weeks ago, but it has now come to light.

Watson has been disgruntled with the Texans since the hiring of new general manager Nick Caserio, who has had a good working relationship and friendship with Jack Easterby, the executive vice president of football operations, who took over as interim general manager upon the firing of Bill O’Brien on Oct. 5, 2020.

With the former 2017 first-round pick seeking a new team for 2021, it leaves Culley, their new coach, and Caserio, their new general manager, with a big problem to fix in January.

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Arian Foster says Texans should bend to the will of QB Deshaun Watson

Former Houston Texans running back Arian Foster says the franchise should bend to the will of quarterback Deshaun Watson to keep him around.

Arian Foster believes the Houston Texans should do whatever it takes to keep Deshaun Watson happy, even if it means giving him increase organizational input.

Foster joined Sports Radio 610’s Edward Gilliard on the “Gems & Juice Podcast” to talk about the tension between the Texans and their three-time Pro Bowl quarterback.

“If I’m the organization, I bend to his will,” Foster said. “There’s no way you don’t. He’s a generational quarterback. You never had a quarterback like him. You’re not going to have a quarterback like him in the next who knows how many decades. You bend to his will. What do you need to keep you here? What would keep you here? What do you want? What do you need?”

The former All-Pro running back, who spent 2009-15 with the Texans, wasn’t throwing unprecedented ideas around. According to Foster, the Indianapolis Colts allowed quarterback Peyton Manning to have similar type of influence.

“I remember when Peyton Manning was with the Colts,” said Foster. “He was in the draft room. He had that much pull because that was his squad. You’re not going without Peyton. And, so, if you have that kind of generational talent, get him involved. What do you think this team needs?”

The 2010 NFL rushing champion opined that one of the problems with the NFL is ownership and front office personnel “have so much egos.”

Foster also took issue with the trade scenarios floating about, pointing out that no draft compensation could be high enough to account for losing a franchise cornerstone, especially at the most significant position in the sport.

Said Foster: “I heard recently he’s worth three first-rounders. Like, dog, you can have five first-round picks and you’re not going to get a talented quarterback like that. You can have a first-round pick every year for the next 10 years and you’re not going to get a talented quarterback like that. Maybe, but you already have one. So, why not invest in this one? It don’t make no sense.”

The Texans will have to figure out a way to smooth things over with Watson quickly. A recent ESPN report indicated the former 2017 first-round pick would seek an exit from the club no matter who they hired as coach.

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Houston mayor Sylvester Turner says the city loves Texans QB Deshaun Watson, prays they ‘move forward together’

Houston mayor Sylvester Turner is doing his part and trying to smooth things over between the Texans and quarterback Deshaun Watson.

Houston mayor Sylvester Turner is using his platform to help smooth things over with the Houston Texans and quarterback Deshaun Watson.

The 62nd mayor in city history, who took office over a year before the Watson era in January 2016, took to Twitter on Sunday afternoon and expressed his thoughts on the Texans and Watson making up after a bumpy start to the offseason.

“Houston loves @deshaunwatson and the @HoustonTexans,” Turner tweeted from his official account. “Houston is a great City that is hungry to back our players and team. As a Mayor of a City that is second to none I pray we move forward together.”

Turner is a Houstonian through and through. Born in 1954 and a graduate of Klein High School, Turner assuredly remembers how the Houston Oilers wove themselves into the fabric of the Bayou City, and similarly how devastating it was to see owner Bud Adams rip them away and give them a new identity — like a loved one brainwashed and held captive in an oppressive cult.

While the city of Houston may be at DEFCON 4 at a maximum with the Watson situation, it nonetheless is on a trajectory that could provide as much heartbreak the city has endured since the departure of the Oilers in 1997. Turner’s words on Twitter are from a mayor who has the memories and historical perspective of what Houston NFL football means to the city, and how they can’t undergo similar heartache.

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Report: Deshaun Watson will want to leave regardless of who the Texans hire as coach

ESPN’s Adam Schefter expects Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson to want to leave the team regardless of who is hired as coach.

It may be too late to keep Deshaun Watson happy.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, no matter who the Houston Texans hire as their fourth full-time coach in team history, Watson is still expected to want out of Houston.

The Texans have two coaching candidates narrowed down in Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, both of whom square off against one another in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium.

If the ESPN report is true, the Texans could hire Bieniemy, who Watson favors, and he would still want to leave the organization because of the friction that began after the hiring of Nick Caserio as general manager.

Houston’s offseason has been tumultuous, and it hasn’t even been a full month since the club played its final game to finish the 2020 campaign 4-12. The Texans must develop organizational stability or else 2021 could produce similarly disastrous results.

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Could the Detroit Lions be trade partners for Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson?

The Detroit Lions intend to trade quarterback Matthew Stafford. Does that mean they could make a play for the Houston Texans’ Deshaun Watson?

The Detroit Lions will be in the market for a franchise quarterback.

According to the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Lions and Matthew Stafford have agreed to part ways, and the team will be looking at trade options in the coming weeks as they look to get something in return for their former 2009 first-round pick.

Could one of those teams include the Houston Texans?

Things between the Texans and quarterback Deshaun Watson are presently tense, and there have been rumors that the three-time Pro Bowler could request a trade. If he does, the Texans will have to make sure they get the most value out of dealing away their franchise quarterback.

If Houston were to make the trade with Detroit, Watson would be working with rookie coach Dan Campbell, who previously was the tight ends coach and assistant to the head coach with the New Orleans Saints from 2016-20. Watson’s new offensive coordinator would be Anthony Lynn, former coach of the Los Angeles Chargers for the past three seasons. The Lions would have a little over $2.5 million in salary cap space, which would make surrounding Watson with talent somewhat challenging. Detroit has a capable tight end in T.J. Hockenson, who caught 67 passes for 723 yards and six touchdowns en route to a Pro Bowl selection.

The Texans would get Matthew Stafford in return and at least the Lions’ No. 7 overall draft pick. Houston should try to get as many draft picks as they can from Detroit as losing Watson will no doubt be a step back, but, for the sake of the Texans, a step back before the team took two strides forward.

Adding Stafford would also make the hiring of Jim Caldwell as coach all the more appealing. No one got more out of the Lions and Stafford from 2014-17 than Caldwell with Detroit recording three winning seasons and two playoff berths. If Houston were to re-sign receiver Will Fuller, Stafford would have targets in Fuller and Brandin Cooks that would be on par with Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones.

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Texans considering former Eagles QB Josh McCown for head coaching job

Texans considering former Eagles QB Josh McCown for head coaching job

The Texans have the NFL’s only head coaching vacancy remaining and a former Eagles quarterback could get the nod.

Josh McCown left the Eagles practice squad to sign with the Houston Texans and now he’s interviewing for the vacant head coaching position per Mike Garafalo.

McCown has never been a consistent starter in the NFL as a quarterback, but he offers a wealth of knowledge, and his ability over the years to adjust many times to new offensive systems, different locker rooms, and coaches makes the future offensive coach a candidate to make the immediate jump from player to head coach.

In an ironic turn of events, if McCown was to be hired, he would be the first player to go directly from being an active player to an NFL head coach since Norm Van Brocklin left the Eagles in 1960 to coach the Vikings in 1961.

McCown’s relationship with Deshaun Watson could play a role in the interview.

The Texans also interviewed Jim Caldwell for their head coaching vacancy.

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Why the Panthers should be first in line to trade for Texans QB Deshaun Watson

The Carolina Panthers would be the one team that could get the most out of Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson if they traded for him.

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson isn’t going anywhere. He has a no-trade clause, and general manager Nick Caserio would be making a career-ending move right off the bat by getting rid of a franchise quarterback.

However, if the situation with Watson and the Texans becomes irreconcilable, the Carolina Panthers need to be the first team to get on the phone with the Texans and present an offer.

From Watson’s perspective, while he is a winner and can elevate the play of his teammates around him, are the Miami Dolphins really a great fit for him? Would he be able to fix the New York Jets or just blend in with the losing? Those teams may have the draft haul that would help the Texans, but they wouldn’t be helping Watson.

The Panthers have plenty to offer Watson.

Location is a big one as the three-time Pro Bowler would be two-and-a-half hours from Clemson and four hours from Atlanta — or an hour by flight. Watson would have all of his support networks from his journey into the NFL all nearby with Dabo Swinney in Clemson and his family in the Atlanta area.

Speaking of Clemson, the Tigers fans in that area would support the Panthers in a way they probably never have since the franchise’s 1995 inception.

While Watson would have two bright coaches to work with in coach Matt Rhule and offensive coordinator Joe Brady, he would have a familiar element from his time in Houston and an assistant key in his development in Sean Ryan, who will be the Panthers’ new quarterbacks coach in 2021.

In a Dec. 27, 2018, meeting with the Houston media, Ryan explained what his process with Watson is like on the sidelines.

“All we do between series, whether it’s me and him, OB (Bill O’Brien) and him, whoever is with him, it’s all about the football,” Ryan said. “It’s all about what we see how the game is going at that time, where our plan is taking us next and how we’re going to attack the opponent, what we feel like they’re doing to us and how we’re going to handle it. It’s all of that. It’s never time to panic, it’s always calm. Just talking about where we’re going from here.”

None of the other 31 teams can off that type of chemistry with Watson.

In order to get the former 2017 first-round pick, it would cost Carolina. The club would have to look at giving up a bevy of premium picks, including two first-rounders, or balancing out picks with players, possibly running back Christian McCaffrey.

The Texans still have a coaching hire to make, and that may be enough to get Watson happy again. However, if the Texans blow it, the Panthers need to strongly consider a huge upgrade at quarterback.

Ranking the trade value of Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson

The Houston Texans have no intention to trade quarterback Deshaun Watson. But if they did, here are some offers worth considering.

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson has a no-trade clause in his contract.

However, the uneasiness of the three-time Pro Bowler after the hiring of general manager Nick Caserio has the idea of trading Watson becoming and more thinkable.

If the Texans were to move on from Watson, they would be on the hook for $16.2 million in 2021 and then $10.8 million in 2022 before absorbing a more manageable dead money figure of $5.4 million in 2023. Caserio would have to choose wisely.

If the Texans were to trade Watson, here are a variety of trade packages Houston could look at.

4 teams who could trade for Texans QB Deshaun Watson

The Houston Texans aren’t trading Deshaun Watson, but that isn’t stopping these four teams from consider it, according to Ian Rapoport.

The Houston Texans aren’t even thinking about trading quarterback Deshaun Watson. Not even Cal McNair would entertain that thought.

However, the NFL and the rest of the sports world can’t help but notice the friction between the franchise quarterback and Houston. It prompts a question in the mind of 32 NFL teams: what is the Texans’ price to acquire Watson?

Here are four teams who could be asking the Texans to name their price, according to a report from the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Sharks smell blood in the water with Deshaun Watson unrest with Texans

Opportunists see an opening with the Houston Texans and Deshaun Watson having a little dysfunction in their relationship.

The Houston Texans and Deshaun Watson not being on the best of terms has presented an opening for speculation that unto itself is a sign of apparent dysfunction.

Just take a look at the Raiders Wire. Already, the odds-makers are casting lots for Watson’s jersey, speculating where he will play in 2021.

What exactly are the odds Baker Mayfield will play for the Denver Broncos?

Because of the problems with Watson and the Texans, no matter how exaggerated they could be, or how accurate they could be, the possibility he could leave the franchise is almost manifesting due to the attention it is getting in national media.

Ahead of playoff action on divisional weekend, the pregame shows had segments reporting on the situation with Watson and the Texans. Instead of having a segment on the new Texans coach, the subject is how tense the relationship is between Houston and their franchise quarterback.

It isn’t a good look.

Whether deserved or not, the focus of the criticism is executive vice president of football operations, Jack Easterby. Aside from chairman and CEO Cal McNair, the one constant in all of the drama that has swirled through NRG Stadium since 2019 has been Easterby. It is a fact outsiders can’t help but notice, and similarly ponder why McNair can’t see it.

Texans fans are a captured audience, curious as to how many more purges the team has to endure for McNair to realize he went from a playoff contender to a rebuild in a 12-month span.

Watson ought to be in the conversation for what his odds to be the 2021 MVP look like, not what team he will play for in nine months. McNair has to get control of the narrative that is slipping further beyond his fingertips and get his franchise quarterback on the same page.

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