Deshaun Watson wants out. The Texans won’t blink. On Friday, Texans GM Nick Caserio and new head coach David Culley reiterated their desire to keep the quarterback in Houston. 
[RELATED: Panthers To Pursue Watson]
“Organizationally, we want to reiterate our commitment to Deshaun Watson,” said Caserio, pre-empting the slew of questions to come about Watson (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter). “We have zero interest in trading the player..We have a great plan and vision for him. We look forward to spending more time with him.”
Caserio believes that “honest” and “forthright” communication can mend fences between the Texans and their star quarterback. Culley agreed as he backed up the GM with an even more confident declaration.
“He is a Houston Texan. I want him to be a Houston Texan,” said Culley (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Field Yates). “The reason I’m in this position today is because I know he’s going to be a Houston Texan.”
Watson is interested in going to the Dolphins or the Jets with a slight preference towards the Jets…or the Dolphins, depending on who you ask. The Panthers have also jumped in, less than one year after signing Teddy Bridgewater to a three-year, $63MM deal. The Jets and Dolphins could line up especially well for a trade, given their wealth of draft capital. And, with the Dolphins, the Texans could try for a Tua Tagovailoa trade.
But, despite all of the possibilities — and Watson’s strong desire to get out of town — the Texans say he’s staying put.
Yep. He signed the contract. Hold him accountable.
Agreed , let him sit at home. I’ll invite him to my fantasy league .. ..
That’s how you ensure no one ever plays for your organization again. They’re already in hot water with a top 3 quarterback in the league in regards to trust, they won’t make it worse by not abiding by his wishes and letting him sit out because of money. He’ll never play for the Texans again.
The man signed a contract. He should have thought about this before he entered into a legally binding commitment.
Lol players are bought.
F that. NFL contracts mean jack to the teams. So why should players honor them? I hope Watson never plays for the Texans again.
He doesn’t have too, he also won’t get paid.
He’s earned over $40 mil so far. I think he and his family are good. He has the ability to take a stand.
Ha! Ask Megatron about teams coming back for their money. He’ll play. Guaranteed.
Oh, he’ll still get paid despite what the two and a half idiots in the front office think.
– In his new 5 year deal, ~$111M is guaranteed.
– If the team refuses to trade him and he sits out; after all the fines the team can impose, Watson will still make ~$21.5M
– The team will take a cap hit of ~$29M in 2021 and the ~$39M the remaining 4 years of the deal.
The team has ZERO leverage here, it’s a lose, lose, lose situation when it’s all said and done. If he sits out, the team pays him and takes a hit on the salary cap, they have very few picks in the draft because of the rocket surgeon they fired (and still paying) earlier this year, and makes Houston a horrible destination for any free agent they would even consider signing.
Cal and his cast of “yes man fools” get what they deserve. I really hope that he begins to consider selling the team……sooner than later.
Is there a breach of contract possibility? Why wouldn’t Houston be able to void his contract if he elects to hold out?
If you waive him by voiding the contract would be an absolutely horrible idea for the following reasons.
1. They would still owe him ~$82M, the balance of the guaranteed portion of his contract.
2. The team would take a $29M hit on their cap number.
3. Probably the most important, they would get absolutely nothing for Watson, putting them in a deeper hole.
If the team does not trade him and Watson chooses to sit out; after the team fines him for Mimi camp, OTA’s, preseason and regular season games they would still have to pay him ~$21M. In addition, $29M would go against their cap number in 2021 and $39M for the remaining 4 years of his deal.
His agent did a great job in negotiating this contract for his client.
Why should anyone honor anything, right? Let’s stop that nonsense. If all they do is crap on contracts, what would be the sense of having contracts? If contracts aren’t honored, business in general would fail.
— I’m tired of players complaining about contracts they signed when it was good for them. Once the contract starts to benefit the team the players want a better contract (want their cake and eat it too). Not to mention the idea of the “We have to have fun playing” nonsense. Most people in the world work and have no choice in whether it’s fun or not. Players had fun their whole lives, being catered too, having their tires pumped constantly, gifts, money and whatever other perks they get for being gifted athletes. Now they demand to have fun in a league where guys are out beating the snot out of each other? Seriously, try giving your 20+ million contracts to charity and we’ll figure out how to make things “Fun” for these clowns! But that’ll never happen because we’ve churned out players that are all about “Me, Myself and I”.
I like how you just completely ignore the fact that teams don’t honor contracts constantly. Contracts take two parties to make them work. GTFO and take that pro-business nonsense elsewhere.
So by noon honoring contracts do you mean cutting guys when they don’t have guaranteed money? Bc that’s baked into and is very much part of the contract… the players know that when they sign.
He’s right you know.
There wouldn’t be a league with “that pro business nonsense”. If they don’t like the non guaranteed part of their contracts being honored they’re free to do something else. There’s hundreds of guys on the practice squad or other leagues willing to take those non guaranteed contracts. Most of these guys are still making more in a season or two than the average American will see in a lifetime.
I keep hearing how the contracts mean nothing to the teams/owners. We all know this. The teams can drop them at anytime. Yet, the players keep signing them. They know they aren’t guaranteed going in, yet they keep signing them. It’s not like the players learn after signing that the contracts aren’t guaranteed. They signed the contract!!! The teams releasing the player early is NOT a breach of contract. They are well within the confines of the contract. If the players don’t like it then quit signing the contracts.
Why do you think players try to get more money in signing bonuses? The players are in this situation because their union sucks ass. Plus it’s also hard to take a principled stand when you’re broke with no job prospects thanks to the exploitative college game.
berkyjay- $27 million came in the form of a signing bonus. If he sits out he has to pay the prorated portion of that back, which would be $16.2 million since he only has played 1 year of the deal. It is one thing to not get paid, but to not get paid and have to write a check for $16+ million is a totally different matter if he even has that much cash on hand.
Itonically, this is what Cousins did. Signed a shorter, but almost entirely guaranteed, deal to play it by ear as he continued his career after two years of uncertainty in Washington. People complain about him, but he’s been mostly good since signing.
As for Watson, I do understand his gripe. The team said one thing, and did another. They deserve blame for alienating him. However, he did know the risks going in. It’s hard to put this all on the team when they did fire the guy who was mostly responsible. They handled it extremely poorly on their end, and Watson has every right to feel didrespected. But at the end of the day, he did not ask for roster/coaching input in his deal (which admittedly would would be insane), so he should have known that it was a possibility. This is a situation where I think that it’s really hard to say who has the RIGHT to feel disrespected, but the team really should have handled this better. Or, at least, not promised something that they had no intention of delivering.
Now, it’s in the best interest of both Watson and the Texans to repair the relationship. If it cannot be repaired, they should explore a trade. Disgruntled players are never good for a team, least of all disgruntled quarterbacks. Getting recompense for such a player should at least help in the transition, especially when the last idiot in charge got rid of any draft picks that could have helped replace the player’s production.
Do you then have an issue with the Steelers restructuring Ben? They signed a deal, so they should be held accountable, correct?
If both parties are open to adjustment, then it’s a different situation. Steelers can cut Ben without his approval.
Do you understand the difference between the two scenarios?
It’s the same thing Brady used to do; he did it to help field better teams by deferring money (and still got his money). Why is this an issue? Ben wants to play still and is willing to defer money to do it – it’s a win/win for player and team.
— So the answer is “No, no problem at all”… A restructured contract isn’t one sided and all sides are at the table to come to an agreement. And guess what? It’s still a contract afterwards which will get fulfilled.
Hold him accountable? They went out of their way to alienate him on multiple occasions.
And talking about honoring contracts in the NFL, where ownership can cut someone or terminate a contract for seemingly any reason at all, is laughable at best. It’s anti-player. I support the players because they need power to negotiate for guaranteed contracts like every other major sport.
You can’t pretend to care about the sanctity of contracts when *ownership* is the one who explicitly negotiates for contracts to be non-guaranteed. *Ownership* is the side whose entire MO is that contracts should be able to be broken–but only by them.
Contracts are in place TO hold parties accountable or they face consequences. Both sides want more and they have to agree in the middle somewhere.
—- Team’s entire MO is that contracts should be broken by them alone? Wow.. How dare they hold anyone accountable.. Of course they have the ability but how often have you out seen a team break a contract? And when they did there was some calling for it most likely (and the details within the contract are binding both sides to a set of boundaries; if either side steps over the line the contract stipulates what can and cannot happen (unless it somehow go a to court). I just can’t believe people are this blind!
Non guaranteed contracts are what makes the NFL the best Pro sport by far. Imagine if NBA or MLB teams could get out of some of the horrid contracts they have signed. They could turn around the franchise in a year or two vs. having to wait 3-4 years for sizable contracts to expire. It would be great if all sports only guaranteed 50% of their contracts, but let the players have the option to get out of them too. That way, if they are over-achieving, they can get out and sign for more money. Conversely, if they stink up the joint, the team can part ways with them and replace them with better options.
So… A contract is a contract, unless of course you play a little better or a little worse? Mayhem leading to anarchy.
Contracts mean very little when it comes to transactions. If a team can trade a player on a contract, a player can request a trade.
That said, I haven’t seen anything about him holding out or sitting the season, so what exactly are you holding him accountable for? Perhaps the Texans should also be held accountable for their decision to have Watson’s input on coaching matters (whether he should or not isn’t relevant if the team said they are giving him that power), then reneging on that
If he pulls a Carson Palmer and sits out, I’m assuming he doesn’t get paid? But the Texans can’t utilize his salary elsewhere
Correct
He actually gets fined for missing training camp and preseason games, once the regular seasons starts though I’m not so sure what happens, probably just doesn’t get paid.
The Texans might be dumb enough to keep making this worse and not trade Watson but at least this was a bland and appropriately cookie cutter response.
Where are all the madden GMs who yesterday were so sure they HAD to trade him and not only that but to exactly where he wants? Stick to your day jobs football really isn’t your thing
What’s the benefit of not trading him? He wants out and you can demand a kings ransom right now. The longer they hang on to him and waste more years off his career and contract then the less of a return they get to fix a broken franchise.
I never said it was the correct choice not to trade him. Just the offers being floated around yesterday for Matt Stafford were ridiculous. It’s not like you only have him for this year, do what the rockets did with Harden, wait until someone will mortgage their future for him. Trading him on his terms is bad business for the Texans
Trading him is bad business? Keeping him is worse. They’ll most likely have a few high compensation offers for a player of his caliber. They have zero draft capital and aren’t getting any better
You took it out of context. I said trading him on HIS TERMS is bad business. You have him locked up through 2025 there is 0 reason to trade him to the dolphins or jets anytime soon. He is a valuable commodity in the league (top 5-10 qb) they don’t come around daily. Wait til someone wants to offer everything + the kitchen sink then happily accept it and move on with your kings ransom
If we trade him we’re picking 10-20 for the next decade. If we don’t trade him and he sits out we pick top 5 for the foreseeable future.
Any trade has to not only pay for Watson but cover the gap between those two realities. Who is willing to trade the first half of their draft for the next 3-4 years? Which team is it worth it to do that?
Problem is, anything less isn’t worth it to the Texans. We’d not only lose a generational talent, we are better off with him sitting at home than pretty much any offer I’ve seen floated out there no matter how insane.
The contract stays the same, if he has 4 years left on a contract and he decides not to play this year and decides to play next year he would have gone the entire year without pay and next year he would still have 4 years left on his contract.
The benefit is time working with the player to change the relationship (new coach and GM, that’s two new bosses that are already more than willing to go above and beyond to mend that relationship. If Watson wants things his way, this is probably the best way to accomplish that. New teams want him, true, but the grass isn’t always greener on their fields. He has a golden opportunity to mold the team the way he wants.
Kings ransom? All teams know he’s forcing the Texan’s hand to trade him. That doesn’t mean that Houston can demand anything in return because the team is being held a gun point basically and all 31 other teams know it! They probably get less in a his situation than they would had he not asked/forcing a trade.
Again did you not just watch the James harden situation play out. Yea I get it different sport but superstars are all alike. He showed up to camp overweight, intentionally breaking COVID rules so he would miss games. Hell He even stopped trying the last week he was with them. Then after all the he makes comments that made the team so mad they asked him to just stay away and a day later he’s traded. drama doesn’t matter when you acquire a superstar in his prime (especially a quarterback!!!). You have 4 years to win that trade, if he doesn’t play for the Texans he simply doesn’t play for 5 years. Yes I agree letting it go that far would be a huge mistake but don’t they can’t let him force their hand into accepting anything less than what I said “a kings ransom”. Jalen Ramey wanted out had about a year and a half in his contract left and jags got 2 first and a 4th for him. Now compare the value of cornerbacks and quarterbacks. 4 years of Watson >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 1.5 Ramsey
You lost everyone when you compared Watson to Stafford.
Way to be a condescending douche. How about you stick to your day job and not tell others how to live their lives?
Oh look another hippy. Don’t mind him he’s a very disturbed little boy
It’s amusing you think they have any leverage here. This is a damage control statement in an effort to gain some leverage in trade negotiations, and it’s as transparent as glass. They could hold him, and Watson could suddenly develop a lot of “muscle injuries” this season. They still have to pay him. So please, elaborate on how they don’t have to trade him, and how it makes sense to spend 1/4 of your cap to prove a point. Plus, who has a better package to offer than NY or Miami in terms of draft capital?
Ever heard of lip service? That’s what we got today.
“Stick to your day jobs” while you are declaring victory a week before the super bowl that a player won’t get traded because (wait for it)…..someone in the front office said they aren’t going to trade him haha yeah we have never seen that before give me a break.
Never did I said he wouldn’t get traded. Reading comprehension is hella weak in here today. I said don’t trade him on his terms. Again DONT TRADE HIM ON HIS TERMS. You have a top tier quarterback in a quarterbacks league while a 1/3 of the teams at least would want him. It’s called creating a bidding war not hard to follow what I’m saying.
His terms are very simple. He wants out. Not that complicated. Take the best package when offered, get some picks and rebuild your team
But he has a no trade clause. So he will have a say In where he goes aka his terms. So basically you come out calling people out (look at your first comment) and now you keep backtracking to the point that you really have no valid point. Gotcha.
I’m “calling people out”. Gotcha
They’ll be plenty of teams lining up for his services. The Texans are a mess and over the cap. Sure he has say on “his terms” but do you believe he’s going to get picky about it? I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to waive his no trade clause just to get the hell out of there. The Jets and Dolphins are perfect fits; with draft capital and a ton of cap space. It would be beneficial for both parties to get this over with soon
Yeah, I’m sure they aren’t interested, but that doesn’t mean that they’ll have no choice eventually. They have till the draft to figure it out. I’ll give little Nicky Caserio for actually saying this instead of the “Deshaun Watson is our QB” BS when he got hired.
At a minimum he should have to pay back his signing bonuses on his new extension
So now he’s not gonna play. Might as well trade him and get a top pick
Jags didn’t want to trade Ramsey either.
But these guys can force your hand with their attitudes.
The “one bad apple” thing.
There comes a point you may as well give them their way IF someone ponies up the right amount.
Whenever a GM says ; “we’re not interested in trading player X or player X is not available” , that just means you better overwhelm them with an offer.
So at the least it’s a negotiating tactic playing hard to get, while trying to salvage the relationship. Exactly what they should do, people need to quit overreacting to every little detail lol.
I’m shocked that they aren’t caving to the demands of a player with zero leverage.
Zero leverage? He could choose not to play or he could simply retire.
No way anyone gives up that much money. If the Texans don’t trade him- he will be there week 1
And if he doesn’t play that really helps the Texans? They get no assets and they have a problem continuing to remain. This thought process that sticking it to the player is the right way to go about these situations are unrealistic. How many times has a player wanted out and they stayed? It’s a dream scenario.
If we trade him we’re picking 10-20 for the next decade. If we don’t trade him and he sits out we pick top 5 for the foreseeable future.
Any trade has to not only pay for Watson but cover the gap between those two realities. Who is willing to trade the first half of their draft for the next 3-4 years? Which team is it worth it to do that?
Problem is, anything less isn’t worth it to the Texans. We’d not only lose a generational talent, we are better off with him sitting at home than pretty much any offer I’ve seen floated out there no matter how insane
Let me get this straight… Watson would be sitting at home withering away his prime watching the Texans on TV. He says to himself “I give in” and he goes back to the Texans. He then wins them 4 more games than they could’ve had without him, and still pick 10-20… What’s the logic in that? Why not just trade him?
Scenario 1 – we trade Watson + 10 draft positions for the next 3 years for 1 Mediocre QB + 1 top 5 pick + 2-3 mid to late round 1sts.
Scenario 2 – We draft in the top 5 for the next 4 years.
I would trade 1 top 5 and all the rest for 4 top 5 picks 100/100 times. Anybody who wouldn’t simply doesn’t understand diminishing returns on DPs in the NFL. Hence it makes no sense to trade him for anything less than a deal nobody in their right mind would do.
Wtf was the “let me get this straight” then saying nothing along the lines of what I posted? Bad faith arguing much?
I don’t even follow the NFL that closely, but even I know that, that is on page two of the negotiation handbook.
Caserio and Culley need to understand that a diplomatic appeasement is worthless if a player feels he’s been betrayed. They better get working on a plan B.
Watson needs to realize he has no leverage. The Texas are objectively better off letting him sit out then trading him for a QB that won’t take them anywhere +1 good DP and junk.
By trading him and having even average drafts it will take the Texans from guaranteed top 5 pick to the 10-20 pick territory also known as NFL purgatory.
So unless a team will send us the 1st half of their draft the next 3 or 4 years we’d actually be more apt to turn around this team more quickly than trading him. This is a unique situation.
Letting a player sit until his contract expires doesn’t get you anything except maybe fired. As P.T. Barnum famously said “The show must go on”.
I’m not the GM. I have the luxury of being able to support the best plan not the one that won’t get me fired. All I’m saying is Watson staying and not playing is better for the Texans long-term than trading him for anything less than the top half of a team’s draft for the next 3-4 years.
Yeah, let’s see how great AJ McCarron can really be!
If your a GM the best plan usually survives about a week and then you have to deal with circumstances that force you to create another best plan. That’s the nature of the beast in pro sports…your always having to make adjustments, always trying to hit a moving target. Circumstances don’t really care if you want to dig in your heals and refuse to be flexible because in the end they will persist long after your gone.
When you’re talking yourself into making a choice you know is objectively worse maybe it’s time to consider you’re wrong. Or you’re having an entirely different discussion than the topic which is what is best for the Texans. Maybe you just want Watson on your team. Who cares, bad argument.
He should just play, collect his paychecks, and intentionally throw games. That would eventually send a message.
It’s just trade leverage is all this is
Maybe, otherwise it hurts their chances of signing other big name players.
I’m not taking sides but NFL players will.
I feel like a broken record…no way they trade a franchise qb that they won’t get equal value for. Period. Stop listening to that idiot Jason LaConfora and Adam Schefter. They’re mouthpieces. Watsons not getting moved and Bienemy didn’t get hired cause he’s a woman beater. The Lions dealt with a PR nightmare after hiring Patricia…thank the media and the social justice nuts for EB nit getting a job.
Wow somebody that actually gets it…
No trade I’ve seen would in anyway be better than simply letting Watson sit and taking as many Ls as possible. Schefter has constantly said whatever the NFL tells him to for decades now and being able to sell the Texans as a heel AND drive the potential biggest trade in NFL history is too good for them to pass up.
Sounds like we disagree on weather or not EB’s pasts is an issue. Also you wouldn’t have rights without “social justice nuts” but go storm a capitol about it. Maybe that will help.
Patricia was almost fired days after being hired for being implicated in a sexual assault that was dismissed even though it happened when he was in college. If you think for a second a team wanted that PR nightmare you’re wrong. EB has a ton of baggage. Hazing allegations when he coached in college… The DUI isn’t a big deal though, just ask LaRussa.
Throwing out a crazy scenario. Lets assume Watson does not get traded. You now need a QB and your cap will most likely be lower to begin with, im hearing around 175 or so million. Right now the team is estimated at 190 which means you HAVE to cut around 40M in salary down to meet the cap as Watson is still going to count against it. The only ones with out a cap hit are Watt (probably 2nd most popular player), your top receive in Cooks, and on of your RB Johnsons have to go. You are now even with the cap with Watson on the team and not playing.
With Watson sitting you have literally no QBs on the active roster right now. as your backup Josh McNown is retired. Are you going into next year as a 3rd round pick as the face of your offense because its him Randall Cobb or whichever Johnson is kept because you cant get on unless you trade for a pick or a decent qb.
Texans really have to trade him or mend that fence big time. Not sure what they can offer him as fence mender as they spat in his face with what was agreed upon in his contract of having a say in the GM and coach staff. Yes the Texans breeched that part of the contract as they did not do anything in good faith with their search.
Honestly wondering and looking for conversation: The Texans did not have a 1st round pick this past season. They do not have a 1st or 2nd in the upcoming draft. With Watson, they were awful this past season, and everyone is talking about how dire things are for them as they lack the picks to put talent around him.
He’s good. I like his talent. But, if I’m the Jets or Dolphins and have to trade multiple first round picks to acquire him, won’t those teams just be in the same position as the Texans? They would have Watson, but lack the current talent or the future picks to acquire that talent. Would not a Watson trade put those teams in a similar situation as the Texans are currently in? Or, does the potential for having Watson’s talent outweigh the inability to put talent around him?
Miami i think is further along than people will give them credit for. I think they have a solid team and could afford to lose the couple of first rounders as their def seems solid and they have a few playmakers.
The Jets are in a dire situation. I cant name you one player are must keeps (maybe Quinnen Williams and even that is a soft must keep). Its also hard to evaluate what they have as the coaching was all over the place last year. As much as I would love to have Watson on the team if they are asking for 3 first rounders with as many holes as we have its a hard pill to swallow and we dont have the current talent to do much with. The jets do have a ton of money on the cap to spend but i dont see there being enough to spread around to fill that many holes.
Good thoughts, for sure. I’m a Dolphins fan. I agree the Fins are further along, and have more talent and depth than most think. I just fear that acquiring Watson may not have the positive impact some think it could for the Dolphins. Like the Texans, Miami lacks playmakers, which is what everyone is assuming they will load up on with their 4 picks in the top 38. And if I’m the Texans I’m asking for all of them!
In case the new coach and GM didn’t notice, the Texans stunk this year. And they will likely stink just as much in 2021, regardless of who plays quarterback. For all of Watson’s supposed talent they won four (4) games this year, thus Houston should let one of those teams that are drooling over Watson’s empty stats to mortgage their future and restock the Texans’ roster – much like Minnesota did for Dallas with the Herschel Walker trade.
Will he stay or will he gq
Janice sell the team
Loved that banner flying high above
Casserio says We will not trade The Player
When will Watson say more
I would really love to see thrive here but be a miracle i
The only thing that makes sense is for the Texans to trade him. To hold onto him will only hurt them. To try to teach Watson a “Lesson” by not trading him, would be stupid. Besides, ownership trying to take a stand on principle would be stupid, since they have already shown they are unprincipled.