TOUGH BREAK
Texans lose exciting rookie QB Watson for season with knee injury
Nov 2, 2017, 4:00 pm
Deshaun Watson is lost for the season. Tim Warner/Getty Images
The sports gods played a cruel joke on the city of Houston Thursday. On a day when everyone was celebrating the amazing Astros World Series win, the Texans season essentially came to an end.
Rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson reportedly tore his ACL in practice and is lost for the season. Without Watson, the Texans are relegated to also-ran status.
The exciting rookie had energized the city. In six plus games, he passed for 1,699 yards, 19 touchdowns, 8 interceptions and a QB rating of 103.0. He had made the Texans relevant and exciting on offense.
Watson was reportedly injured on a read option at practice, and went down without contact.
The injury means Tom Savage, who has never thrown a touchdown pass in the NFL, returns as the starting quarterback.
The Texans signed former Penn State quarterback and Raiders QB Matt McGloin, who will likely supplant Savage at some point. The reality is, however, the Texans playoff hopes are gone.
It was a cruel blow on a day the city celebrated one of its greatest sports accomplishments.
The Rockets added veteran forward Dorian Finney-Smith on a four-year, $53 million deal shortly after free agency opened. ESPN first reported the deal, and a person with knowledge of the agreement confirmed the terms to AP.
Houston becomes Finney-Smith’s fourth team after stints with Dallas, Brooklyn and the Los Angeles Lakers. He’ll be added to a Rockets club that earlier this summer landed Kevin Durant in a blockbuster trade with Phoenix, though that deal cannot receive formal approval from the NBA until next week.
Finney-Smith averaged 8.7 points and was a 41% shooter from 3-point range this past season.
ESPN also reported that the Rockets’ run on free agents continued with the addition of center Clint Capela, who spent the first six years of his career in Houston before playing for the last five seasons in Atlanta. Capela agreed to a three-year deal with the Rockets, ESPN said.