WATSON WATCH

Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson has eliminated one team from his list

Deshaun Watson
The Browns are out! Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images.
Week 1 fantasy football rankings

According to Adam Schefter, the Cleveland Browns have been informed that Deshaun Watson will not waive his no-trade clause for a trade to Cleveland.


We've heard rumors that Deshaun prefers not to play for a cold weather team, so eliminating the Browns makes sense in that aspect. And after reports from Aaron Wilson about Watson having a second meeting with the Saints on Wednesday night, it's starting to look like the Saints are the favorites to land Watson.

Not only does New Orleans look like Deshaun's favorite destination at the moment, but the Saints are making multiple moves to clear cap space, and it appears they almost have enough cap space to make the trade, according to Field Yates. We're also hearing from Aaron Wilson that Saints guard and former 1st round pick, Cesar Ruiz, could be a part of this trade.

Let's focus on the Falcons for a moment because the clock is ticking for them. Per ProFootballTalk, "Ryan is due to receive a $7.5 million roster bonus tomorrow. Which means that, if he’s not off the roster by 4:00 p.m. ET today, the cap charge for a pre-June 1 trade moves to $48.025 million."

With this in mind, don't be surprised if Watson has to let the Falcons know his intentions today, so they can make a decision on Ryan's contract.

As far as the Panthers, they feel like a long shot at this point. Watson has met twice with the Saints, so it would be very surprising if Watson picks the Panthers. But anything is possible, we'll see. Bottom line, I believe Watson makes his decision today, but we might not hear about it right away.

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Can the Texans pull off the upset? Composite Getty Image.

The NFL playoffs are finally here, and the Texans will kick off the postseason by hosting the LA Chargers this Saturday at NRG.

And while the Texans are only 3 point underdogs, the national media is making it seem like Houston has no chance against Justin Herbert and company.

ESPN's Rex Ryan has gone as far as calling the Texans a "bye" week for the Chargers, giving the team no chance to win despite playing at home.

However, the Texans are no stranger to this situation, as they were given little chance to win against the Browns in last year's Wild Card game. And we know how that ended, with the Texans thrashing the Browns 45-14.

It's certainly fair to predict the Chargers will come away with a win this Saturday, they have been playing much better football than Houston in recent weeks.

But it's important to remember that home underdogs have performed well in the Wild Card round. In fact, home underdogs are 16-14 all-time in the Wild Card playoffs, and both home underdogs won last year (Texans, Buccaneers).

Speaking of last year, many credit the Texans defense for securing the win over Cleveland, with two pick sixes in the second half helping to seal the deal.

But the real reason Houston won the game was because of CJ Stroud and the offense. Stroud threw 3 touchdowns before halftime and the team was leading 24-14 with six minutes left in the third quarter. That's when the defense tacked on two interceptions for touchdowns and put the game out of reach. Stroud and the offense also went on to score another TD on a Devin Singletary run.

If Stroud and the offense didn't put so much pressure on Joe Flacco and the Cleveland offense to score, he may not have forced those passes that were picked off.

Now, many will point to the Chargers having the best defense (points allowed) this season, but it's worth noting the Browns had the number one defense (yards allowed) last year as well.

Bulls on Parade

Houston's defense will have its hands full against a strong rushing attack led by JK Dobbins. And Justin Herbert has been terrific this season, spreading the ball around to his top two targets, Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston.

Fortunately for the Texans, they are extremely healthy on defense this week. While Jimmy Ward and Jalen Pitre are out for the year, we'll finally get to see linebackers Azeez Al-Shaair and Christian Harris play together for the first time this season.

The defensive line is expected to be at full strength as well, keep in mind Jonathan Greenard was injured and unable to play against the Browns last year.

Outlook on offense

We should see the best possible version of the offensive line this Saturday. We're all aware how many hits Stroud has taken due to poor o-line play. But with Tytus Howard and left guard and Juice Scruggs at right guard, Stroud should have more time to get the passing game going, featuring Nico Collins.

Speaking of the receivers, it's pretty amazing that this receiver group is almost identical to last year's in the Wild Card round. Stroud didn't have Stefon Diggs (on the Bills) or Tank Dell (injured) to throw to last year, either. But he does have one big addition in Joe Mixon this year. Hopefully, they can get Mixon involved in the passing game, and the shuffling of the o-line provides Mixon with some holes to run through.

X-factor

At least there's a possibility newly acquired receiver Diontae Johnson could provide a spark to the offense. Last year John Metchie and Robert Woods were the main targets besides Collins and Dalton Schultz.

What does Vegas think?

The Chargers are favored by 3 and the total is set at 42.5 points

Don't miss the video above as the crew from Texans on Tap previews this week's big game!

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