On January 12th, 2020, the Houston Texans lined up to kick a field goal on a 4th and 1 from the Kansas City Chief’s 13 yard-line. The football sailed from Ka'imi Fairbairn’s foot through the golden uprights at Arrowhead Stadium, and the Texans fortuitously found themselves with a 24-0 lead in the Divisional Round of the AFC playoffs. Since that moment, just about everything that could go wrong, has gone wrong for the football team that calls Houston home.
They were outscored 51-7 in the final three quarters of the game; an unprecedented turnaround in NFL playoff history. They followed that up with an offseason as uninspiring as a pre-game speech from Jack Easterby. They traded away their franchise wide receiver in DeAndre Hopkins, and the rest of the team’s offseason consisted of selecting bad players in the draft and overpaying veterans in free agency.
Then, when the season started, the Texans losses kept coming. Bill O’Brien was fired after a 0-4 start. A former team chaplain was named interim GM. Breakout wide receiver Will Fuller and secondary stalwart Bradley Roby were suspended for PED violations. The team fumbled away multiple wins and finished the season 4-12. By the end of the season the Texans had become a national laughingstock.
During the offseason, somehow, things got worse. The Texans were exposed by multiple Sports Illustrated articles that detailed the dysfunction in the Texans organization. The team snubbed Deshaun Watson during its coaching and GM search after telling him his voice would be heard. Texans brass spurned $600,000 worth of advice from the Korn-Ferry search firm and hired Nick Caserio, who in turn hired head coach David Culley, a 65 year-old who has not even sniffed a coordinator position in over 25 years in the NFL. Legendary Texans receiver Andre Johnson, who speaks publicly as often as a monk during a vow of silence, felt compelled to call them out. Jamey Rootes, Bob McNair’s right-hand man and the team’s President of Business operations since day one, resigned. Then finally, after weeks of rumors and speculation, the knockout blow was delivered. Deshaun Watson, the franchise quarterback whom the Texans and their fans have been searching for their entire football lives, wanted out.
Naturally, since the news broke, fans, pundits, and talking heads alike have all speculated – where do the Texans go from here? Well, from here, there is only one way for the Texans to go. They must trade Watson, and they must trade him as quickly as possible. There have already been multiple reports that the Texans want to dig in and play hardball with Deshaun Watson.
Their reasoning makes sense- the team wants Watson here, they don’t want to set a precedent of trading a disgruntled star player on a long-term contract, and $21.6 million in dead money is problematic for a team lacking in cap space. Those reasons are valid, but let’s talk about why the Texans need to trade Deshaun Watson right now.
1. THE MARKET IS FLOODED WITH TEAMS NEEDING A QB
As of this moment, according to thedraftnetwork.com, there are 15 NFL teams with a primary or secondary need at quarterback. Many of those teams, including the Jets, Dolphins, and others have a treasure chest of first and second-round picks to give back in trade. One of the conditions necessary for a bidding war is an abundance of interested parties, and at least half or more of the teams in the NFL need a QB for the future.
2. THAT MARKET WILL DRY UP SIGNIFICANTLY POST-DRAFT
According to many mock drafts, there could be as many as five quarterbacks taken in the first fifteen picks. That makes five different teams who will cease their phone calls looking to fill their need at QB. Those teams will have their guy in place and QB will not be a need for two years at a minimum.
3. WATSON’S VALUE WILL NEVER BE HIGHER
Yes, the Texans finished the season 4-12, but anyone who watched Texans football this season knows that Watson was not at fault. He had a spectacular year as he led the NFL in passing yards with 4,813, had a career-high 33 touchdowns, and a career-low 7 interceptions. It was a banner year for Watson as he found a way to be special week in and week out on a losing team. If you have to sell, you want to sell high. It does not get any higher than this.
4. THE TEXANS ARE NOT READY TO WIN NOW ANYWAYS
The Texans having an all-world year from a quarterback and finishing the season 4-12 defies all logic, until you scratch under the surface. There are holes everywhere you look on the roster, and Watson was the only thing keeping them from being a sinking ship. The Texans are lacking in talent on the offensive line, at running back, wide receiver, tight end, the defensive line, and the secondary. So not only are you unready to contend, trading away Watson for several picks and players allows you to plug the myriad holes.
5. LETTING DESHAUN SIT PUTS OFF THE REBUILD
So let’s say the Texans play hardball, refuse to make a trade, and Watson stays true to his word and sits out the year. Then what? The QB free agent market is headlined by a lackluster list of names such as Jacoby Brissett, Mitchell Trubisky, and Ryan Fitzpatrick. You sign one of those guys to a short-term deal, go through another losing season, and where are you? Right back where you started. You’re a team without a QB, a diminished asset that’s been on ice for a year, a dried up market, and no plan. Refusing to trade Watson would be cutting off your nose to spite your face.
The choice is clear, the Texans must move on from Deshaun Watson, and do it expeditiously in order to begin what will be a long road of a rebuild. The team really only has one reason to keep their disaffected quarterback- pride. For some of the higher ups in the Texans organization I would refer them to Proverbs 16:18 - “Pride goeth before destruction.” Or more practically, the wise words of Marsellus Wallace - “F--- pride. Pride only hurts, it never helps.”