Not so fast.
A day after the news broke that Deshaun Watson was requesting a transaction, the new GM Houston Texans, Nick Caserio, made it clear that he did not give up keeping him standing, setting a distance with the QB franchise.
“From an organizational point of view, we want to reiterate our commitment to Deshaun Watson,” he told a news conference on Friday to introduce head coach David Culley. “We have zero interest in trading the player.”
Although Watson’s frustration with the franchise has little to do with Caserio and Culley personally, there has been no indication that they will be able to change their minds.
Clemson, 25, had expected to have a say in the team’s new leadership after a grim 4-12 season. This did not seem to happen to the team that hired Ceserio without announcing Watson.
Culley, on the first official day with the team, tried to throw a little optimism on the approaching ugliness.
“He’s a Texan from Houston,” said the 65-year-old head coach for the first time. “I want to be a Houston Texan. The reason I’m in this position today is because I know he’s going to be a Texan in Houston. “
This positivity can be wrong. Watson, whose $ 156 million four-year contract runs through 2025 with a ban clause, has most of the leverage in this case and appears to be “dug” at the time. trading. The Texans can only fine him if he refuses to appear, although the NFL Network reported that he is willing to “stay and lose money.”
Numerous teams are expected to be in the commercial market for Watson, who led the NFL with a career-high 4,823 yards and threw for the top 33 personal touchdowns in 2020. The Jets could put together a package interestingly led by the No. 2 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, but will have to compete with AFC East enemies in New England and Miami, as well as the Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers.