TRADE DEADLINE
All the reasons the Texans should take the trade and run
Nov 2, 2021, 11:43 am
TRADE DEADLINE
On Sept. 4, 1972, robbers dropped through a skylight at the Montreal Museum of Art – like a real-life Hollywood movie – tied up three guards and stole a rare Rembrandt painting worth millions of dollars.
Not Deshaun Watson millions … but still a fortune. The painting has never been recovered. It's up in the air whether Watson's NFL career can ever be recovered.
I wonder, when thieves steal a valuable painting, what next? I'm guessing the art thieves didn't take the painting for the walls of their luxury country estate appointed with rich Corinthian leather. The thieves need to find a buyer, who'll pay pennies on Rembrandt's dollars to take the painting off their hands. Then the new owner must keep the painting under wraps, it's stolen property. It's not like the owner can flip the painting like Chip and Joanna Gaines or use it to impress guests at a dinner party. The Rembrandt has been rendered worthless to everybody except its secret owner.
The Rembrandt is Deshaun Watson, on paper worth $156 million, but really worthless, at least this season. The owner is Cal McNair. Fans and the media used to ask, how come Hillbilly Cal rarely speaks publicly? Now we know – he's a boob who most recently had to apologize for dropping a racist comment at a fun golf event.
The Texans' reported asking price for Watson is three first-round draft picks plus other assets. Here's what the Texans' asking price should be:
Three first-round draft picks plus other assets … or best offer.
The Texans need to get Watson off their books and out of Houston by 3 p.m. today – the NFL's trade deadline. Watson's legal problems are well documented: 22 civil suits and 10 criminal complaints alleging sexual misconduct. Following the Watson case is like binge watching Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.
The civil suits could go away with the stroke of a pen on some heavy money orders. The criminal complaints are another story. If a grand jury indicts Watson and he stands trial, while unlikely, Watson might be pre-occupied for several years. He could become a registered sex offender with his home address made public on the Internet. That's what you call a hard sell.
Having Rusty Hardin as Watson's lawyer isn't the guaranteed win or stay out of jail card it once was. Last week, Hardin was in court defending a client accused of negligence, gross negligence and vicarious liability in a case involving an injured worker at Bush-Intercontinental Airport. The jury found Harden's client guilty and the client was ordered to pay $352 million in damages.
You can get two Deshaun Watsons and a kicker for that kind of money.
The Texans were rumored to have a deal nearly in place to trade Watson to the Miami Dolphins last week. But the Texans reportedly upped their asking price at the last minute, believing that Watson's civil suits might be settled soon. Dolphins owner Stephen Ross reportedly wants Watson's legal problems gone before finalizing a trade.
Here's what the Dolphins' hometown newspaper, the Miami Herald, had to say about a possible trade for Watson:
"The Miami Dolphins need a lesson in denouncing bad behavior more than they need Deshaun Watson." That's not exactly the Welcome Wagon for Watson.
If the Texans can find a team willing to roll the dice on Watson they should take the trade and run. Watson is cryptocurrency, his value could increase next off-season, but it also could go down the toilet.
Does Texans management even realize this team is a flat out embarrassment to Houston? Talk show callers hate owner McNair and despise his puppet master Jack Easterby. First year coach David Culley has that Tom Coughlin befuddled look on the sidelines, making questionable, and since they're losing, dumb calls. He is the Bizarro version of Bum Phillips' famous quote about Bear Bryant: Culley can take his'n and lose to your'n, and then he can turn around and take you'n and lose to his'n.
The Texans have lost seven straight games and their fans have plain stopped caring. NRG Stadium looked like a ghost town last Sunday with the Texans hosting an attractive opponent, the Los Angeles Rams. Season ticket holders are dumping their seats for as low as $12. Or they're eating their tickets because nobody's buying.
Around the country, the Texans are either the worst team in the NFL or darn close to it, with a $156 million alleged sexual predator banished from their game day roster.
And still the Texans act like they're holding all the cards, sticking with their sky-high trade demands for Watson. For the sake of the team, the fans, the city and the Harris County jury pool, the Texans need to move on from Deshaun Watson. Today could be their last best chance.
The Houston Texans have a big challenge in store as they look to start the season with a win against the Colts this Sunday. When these two teams met in Week 2 last year, the Colts dominated the Texans, despite losing their QB Anthony Richardson to a concussion after the first quarter.
Keeping Richardson contained on Sunday will go a long way in increasing the Texans' chances of coming home with a win. The Texans defense will have their hands full containing the Colts backs and tight ends in the passing game.
Scoring touchdowns with their wide receivers could prove difficult, as the Texans allowed the second-fewest TDs (10) to the receiver position in 2023.
Limiting running back Jonathan Taylor will also be a top priority. While the Texans had an elite defense against the run last season, they struggled with Taylor in Week 18 as he almost rushed for 200 yards.
Houston's D allowed only four carries to running backs in 2023 that went for 20 or more yards. Two of which were to Taylor in the final game of the regular season.
Finally, DeMeco Ryans and company have to find a way to get pressure on the QB. They only had one QB hit and zero sacks on Richardson and Garner Minshew the first time they faced off last year.
On offense, the Texans have two big x-factors to watch for on Sunday. The offensive line that suited up to play the Colts in Week 2 last season is completely different from this year.
The o-line was ravaged with injuries to start the 2023 campaign, so we expect a big jump in productivity in the trenches this year.
Another big addition in 2024 is the presence of running back Joe Mixon. The running game only produced 2 yards per rush in Week 2 against Indy last year, so there's clearly room for improvement.
Be sure to watch the video above for our in-depth preview of Texans-Colts!
And catch Texans on Tap (a Texans podcast) live on our SportsMapTexans YouTube channel following every game this season!