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Since Deshaun Watson, the fullback, wants to trade, and while the Texans continue to pretend not to do so, an important question remains.
How did it get to this point?
A new article in TheAthletic.com looks at how Watson has lost confidence in the team. The story points to a handful of incidents that led to Watson losing confidence in the team, which fueled his desire to leave.
First, Watson learned about the DeAndre Hopkins trade on social media. It became the ‘first big crack’ in the relationship.
That did not stop Watson from signing a long-term contract extension with the team. According to the report, the negotiations included O’Brien telling Watson’s representatives that the quarterback would be more involved in the team building process.
However, it quickly became clear that off-season efforts to improve the team had resulted in a larger, not smaller gap between the Texans and Chiefs. Then came three more losses and the sudden dismissal of coach / GM Bill O’Brien. Due to the decision to dump O’Brien, Watson questioned the Texans’ plan – if they have one at all. ‘
It seems that the plan in all probability involves the executive director of the football operations Jack Easterby and expands his power and influence. If so, that plan is very successful. However, the team was not.
Watson apparently does not like the Easterby approach. According to the report, Watson’s public call for a whole culture shift was a ‘direct message to Cal McNair’ that the Easterby team had to get rid of. McNair obviously did not dump Easterby – and neither did he.
It got worse after the season, when the Texans gave the impression that Watson would have input in the big rent, but not. The off-the-board decision to make Nick Caserio the new GM (the report in TheAthletic.com reflects our previous report that led McNair to believe that Caserio would want the Panthers to act, even if he did not), the latest became development of which Watson learned through social media. Then his recommendation that the team be interviewed with Eric Bieniemy and Robert Saleh for the head coaching position is ignored.
Given the recent obsession with ‘culture’ in Houston, the team’s resistance to a player who does not want to be part of the culture becomes even more confusing. Watson wants Easterby out; why would Easterby want to keep Watson around?
Maybe they hope he will finally come. Or maybe they just do not want to let him get his way. After all, it is the franchise that has given the football-following world a deplorable expression: ‘We can not let the prisoners run the prison.’
If the son of the man who spoke the word in 2017 believes it to be true, this tug of war with Watson at its core could be an attempt not to show Watson that he can get his way. If so, it would represent a serious failure on the part of the Texans to make decisions in the real interest of the team.