Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson throws in the first half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions on Thursday, November 26, 2020, in Detroit. (Photo by AP / Paul Sancya)
We are not a city of champions. We are a collection of masochists. Our main professional sports franchises are again a tumultuous tapestry.
Upside down, Phoenix. It can always get worse.
We could always be Houston. And considering all that, it wouldn’t hurt to pick up the phone and see if their NFL team would like to change defenders.
Consider:
Just over 54 weeks ago, the Texans led the Chiefs 24-0 in a playoff game. There are 10 minutes left in the second quarter. The world of football has been amazed.
It had been quite a trip for the Houstonians, who live in a heavily populated city without a recognized horizon or any distinct features. Their sports scene was even worse.
Their beloved Oilers once gave them a 32-point lead in a playoff game and left for Tennessee. After five decades without a title, Astros cheated their way to the top, becoming the scourge of baseball. The missiles have been an escape for a long time (without “D”), their only championships coming after the unexpected withdrawal of Michael Jordan, from where James Harden just left in a controversial divorce.
But Texans have elevated them all, becoming the avoidable NFL franchise at all costs, one that now bears a scarlet letter.
After that fateful playoff game in January 2020, where the Chiefs scored 51 of the game’s 58 final points, the Texans lost to Tyrann Mathieu to the Chiefs; changed Jadeveon Clowney to Seattle; changed DeAndre Hopkins to Arizona for a washed David Johnson; and learned that Deshaun Watson had officially applied for a job.
Houston fans are caught in a metaphorical Hell, a sporty Hades, and if you’ve been there during the summer, the climate is pretty much the same. But there are many points of interest that go further:
Does Watson’s demands open an era of player empowerment? A move that swept the NBA, where professional basketball players simulate disappointment; disrupts team harmony; and do whatever it takes to be changed in a city of their choice.
LeBron James started the trend. Kevin Durant took it to another level, joining a team of 73 victories that he could not win in the playoffs. Eric Bledsoe wrote on Twitter the unhappiness of a hair salon. Anthony Davis paid bail in New Orleans. Harden could not get along with Chris Paul or Russell Westbrook, forcing his way to Brooklyn.
Watch out, NFL. Watson and Lions star Matthew Stafford recently requested transactions. The Packers’ Aaron Rodgers might think the same. It is a dangerous time for a league that has always protected the stability of smaller markets.
In Arizona, the biggest question is whether the Cardinals should take the opportunity and run to Watson. The answer is yes, for sure.
Watson is the top elite, from courage to passion, from pocket defender to double threat, from arm talent to leadership. He is 25 years old and is just as close to a sure thing you will find in this position. Kyler Murray is on a very different journey and may one day arrive at the same place.
But it’s crazy.
If you can persuade Watson to approve a transaction in Arizona by signing our climate, an easy-to-use organization, and a meeting with Hopkins, the Cardinals should certainly offer a fair price in return: a legend of Texas schoolchildren in Murray and be Isaiah Simmons; or a first round in 2022.
That’s what he could do and it’s definitely worth a phone call.
After all, it’s the Texans.