Deshaun Watson is still a Houston Texan. Composite image by Jack Brame.

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The NFL trade deadline came and went. Deshaun Watson is still a Texan. So are a few others. Despite the predictions of some, there are players who still call Kirby Drive home. Some are frustrated, while others remain calm. I'm one of the ones you can say that has remained calm. It's pretty easy to see what's going on here. Texans general manager Nick Caserio is playing chess, not checkers.

Mark Ingram was traded back to the team that drafted him, the Saints, in what seemed like a favor to Ingram. Charles Omenihu was sent to the 49ers after being a healthy scratch the past few weeks. Both guys were traded for late round picks. Given Caserio's recent history with late round picks, no one is excited about the return because no one knows if Caserio will be able to turn them into anything.

Guys like Justin Reid and Brandin Cooks remain on the roster despite being good enough to command at least a slightly better haul than a couple late round picks. Cooks was rumored to be a veteran the team would like to keep to build around for their culture, despite putting out a tweet that voiced his displeasure over the Ingram trade. Reid is seemingly in line for an extension, as he's a free agent at the end of the season. He could be looked upon as another building block for the future.

Despite all the rumors, chatter, banter, and speculation, it's Watson's trade to a new suitor that remains the elephant in the room. I'm not mad at all about it. Caserio has a value in mind for Watson and is refusing to accept anything less than that. Waiting until the offseason brings up a couple of reasons why playing chess instead of checkers here is a good idea.

For starters, it allows potential suitors to see the quarterbacks in the draft class. None of them are anything to write home about. There's not one quarterback prospect as of this writing anyone can say is a clear-cut top five pick. None of them have shown or proven to be worthy of being a franchise quarterback. Teams at the top of the draft that need a quarterback now would be far more likely to make a deal knowing they can't use their draft pick to land their franchise guy. This scenario also allows the Texans to see where said teams are drafting and who's potentially available at those slots. A team with as many needs/holes as the Texans can benefit from drafting the best player available in every round.

An underrated benefit of waiting is the ability to attain draft picks from three years into the future. The NFL doesn't allow picks to be traded beyond three years out. Waiting allows you to pick up another year's worth of picks from any potential trade partner. Teams like to include future picks in deals when trading for a big time player because they think their record will be good enough that the picks will be low, therefore giving them the upper hand in the deal. I'm all for stockpiling draft picks, especially good ones, but only if the front office can be trusted to rebuild through the draft.

Most think Watson holds all the cards because of his no trade clause. Despite the rumors of him preferring Miami and his insistence on getting out of Houston ASAP, he's still here. Caserio is holding onto him until he sees fit, rather, until he sees the return he's looking for. Kudos to him for not caving under pressure. Now, it's time to focus on the offseason, a potential trade, and what that may look like.

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Texas hosts Clemson on Dec. 21. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.

No. 4 Texas will be competing for a return trip to Atlanta when it plays at home against No. 13 Clemson in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

The winner of the Clemson-Texas first-round game on Dec. 21 will play No. 10 Arizona State in the Jan. 1 Peach Bowl in Atlanta in the CFP quarterfinals.

For Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik, who is from Austin, Texas, the game will be a homecoming.

“We recruited him hard," Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Sunday, calling Klubnik “a winner. He will do whatever it takes to put his team in position to be successful.”

Added Sarkisian: “When he made the decision to go to Clemson, honestly I wasn’t surprised. Both his parents went to (Texas) A&M.”

Klubnik applauded the announcement of the game at Texas for Clemson's seventh CFP appearance.

“For him to be going to his first playoff in Austin, Texas, where he grew up, you can’t make that up,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “Pretty cool opportunity for him and his family to go compete against Texas there in Austin.”

Swinney said his only visit to the Texas stadium was to watch Klubnik play in a high school playoff game.

“We’ve never played Texas or played in that stadium,” Swinney said. “... It’s going to be amazing. It’s one of the best venues in college football.”

The Longhorns (11-2) were seeded No. 5 in the CFP following their 22-19 overtime loss to Georgia on Saturday night in the Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta.

Sarkisian said his players were “really excited” to see Texas land the No. 5 seed and have the opportunity to play in the Longhorns' first game against Clemson.

Texas safety Andrew Mukuba is a Clemson transfer. Sarkisian said players already were calling the matchup the “Mukuba Bowl.”

Swinney said: “I love Mukuba. I just love his spirit and love his heart. He was a really neat kid.

“I certainly wish he had been able to finish here. He did everything that was asked of him at Clemson. Made a bunch of big plays.”

Clemson (10-3) beat SMU 34-31 in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game Saturday night to land an automatic CFP berth. The Tigers are ranked No. 16 in the CFP but were given the 12th and lowest seed. As the fifth-highest ranked league champion, the Tigers do not get a bye and instead must visit Texas.

Arizona State (11-2) earned a bye by rolling over Iowa State 45-19 in the Big 12 championship game Saturday. The Sun Devils were led by running back Cam Skattebo's 170 rushing yards in their impressive win to cap their first season in the Big 12.

Peach Bowl president Gary Stokan noted the Sun Devils were picked to finish last in the Big 12.

“You proved them all wrong,” Stokan told Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham.

Arizona State players celebrated the announcement of their No. 4 seed.

Dillingham said he hopes the conference championship and berth in the CFP helps him recruit and continue to build the program.

“Hopefully this stage will help get our branding out there, and show people that we can be one of the newer brands in college football," Dillingham said. "Every 10-15 years a new brand shows up, and a new brand becomes a national brand.”No. 4 Texas will be competing for a return trip to Atlanta when it plays at home against No. 13 Clemson in the first round of the College Football Playoff.