Deshaun Watson Meets With David Culley; Trade Request Remains
Deshaun Watson has met with his would-be new head coach. That summit does not look to have changed anything.
In the Friday meeting with David Culley, Watson informed the new Texans HC he does not plan to play for the team again, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (on Twitter). This follows a report expressing that Watson is dug in on his desire to leave Houston.
Cal McNair and new Texans GM Nick Caserio have repeatedly insisted they are uninterested in trading Watson. But this situation is approaching the two-month mark, and suitors have emerged. More figure to surface soon, should the Texans make Watson available. The Dolphins, Jets, Broncos, Panthers and 49ers have been connected to the four-year veteran passer, who is not expected to be picky regarding his destination.
The Texans hired Culley after Watson’s discontent became public, creating a tough situation for the first-time head coach. The team has since cut future Hall of Famer J.J. Watt. As of now, the Texans do not have first- or second-round picks in this year’s draft — thanks to the 2019 Laremy Tunsil trade Culley predecessor Bill O’Brien made. The uncertainty surrounding Watson may also create issues for the Texans in free agency, further making Culley’s opening months as the team’s head coach challenging.
Coming to the Texans after a stay with the Ravens, Culley only received one interview during this year’s HC carousel. He did enough to land the Houston job. It seems he will not sway Watson.
Seahawks’ Russell Wilson Open To Cowboys, Saints, Raiders, Bears
Russell Wilson has not demanded a trade, agent Mark Rodgers tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). However, the quarterback has told the Seahawks that if a trade were to be considered, he would be willing to join the Cowboys, Saints, Raiders, or Bears. Wilson, armed with a no-trade clause, will not consider any team outside of that group. 
The Jets, Dolphins, and Panthers have been heavily linked to Deshaun Watson and would surely be interested in Wilson. Unfortunately for them, they didn’t make the cut. Ditto for the Broncos, Patriots, 49ers, and the Washington Football team, who were runners-up for Matthew Stafford. Of course, it’d be difficult to imagine Wilson in San Francisco, anyway.
Given the Bears’ recent struggles, their inclusion on Wilson’s short list is a bit surprising. Ditto for the Raiders, though they could parlay their current top two quarterbacks — Derek Carr and Marcus Mariota — into additional offensive support for Wilson. The Saints would be especially intriguing for Wilson, though Drew Brees has yet to make his retirement official. Meanwhile, Wilson-to-the-Cowboys would spin this year’s quarterback carousel out of orbit and send Dak Prescott elsewhere.
Wilson, 32, has been the face of the Seahawks for years. He’s also been sacked at an alarming rate. Recently, Wilson expressed frustration with the Seahawks’ inability to protect him. As a pro, Wilson has been sacked 394 times with 40+ sacks in each season since his rookie year.
The Seahawks furnished Wilson a brand new deal less than two years ago. Today, his average annual value of $35MM/year makes him the third-highest paid player in the NFL. So far, the Seahawks have rejected all trade inquiries on him, but that hasn’t stopped teams from trying.
Eagles Release DeSean Jackson
It appears DeSean Jackson‘s second stint with the Eagles will end after two years. Following two injury-plagued seasons, the Eagles intend to release the veteran deep threat, Adam Caplan of Sirius XM Radio tweets. The Eagles have since announced the move.
Jackson still plans to play next season, but the 13-year veteran will attempt to do so after suiting up for only eight games over the past two years. The 34-year-old wide receiver was due to count $10.7MM against Philadelphia’s cap in 2021. Unless this cut will be designated as a post-June 1 transaction, the Eagles will save nearly $5MM by making this move.
Philly’s 2019 trade for Jackson turned into a sunk cost quickly. He suffered a core muscle injury early in his first season back with the Eagles and aggravated the malady upon return. Jackson played in just two games in 2019. This past season, hamstring and ankle ailments limited Jackson to five games. He ended up catching just 23 passes for 395 yards in his second Eagles tour.
Neither of Jackson’s past two teams have gotten what they hoped to out of the elite long-range weapon. Jackson’s last 1,000-yard season came in 2016 with Washington. He did not mesh too well with Jameis Winston in Tampa Bay, with his 774-yard 2018 slate doubling as his top output in the past four seasons. The Buccaneers traded him to the Eagles after that ’18 season.
While Jackson’s second Eagles stay did not go well, with an ugly anti-Semitic remark producing a fine last year, he still rates as one of the best receivers in franchise history. With 6,512 receiving yards as an Eagle, Jackson ranks behind only Harold Carmichael and Pete Rezlaff in franchise history. Jackson accumulated most of that total in his initial six-season Philly run, during which he made three Pro Bowls.
The Eagles’ decisions to extend Jackson and Alshon Jeffery produced little in the way of production, with both contracts quickly becoming albatrosses. A Jeffery cut, which is expected, would still cost Philly money in 2021. The Eagles are set to take on a record $33MM dead-money sum by trading Carson Wentz. Even with the Jackson move, they remain more than $40MM over the projected 2021 cap.
Eagles Trade Carson Wentz To Colts
The Eagles have agreed to trade Carson Wentz to the Colts, according to Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The deal will send a 2021 third-round pick and a conditional 2022 second-round pick to Philadelphia. That conditional choice could turn into a first-round selection if Wentz plays 75% of the snaps or 70% with a playoff appearance (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo). 
Not long ago, Wentz was a legitimate MVP candidate. Things took a sharp turn in the Eagles’ Super Bowl season when Wentz’s injury gave way to the rise of Nick Foles. When Wentz, he wasn’t the same. Neither was the relationship between him and Doug Pederson. Now, they’re both out of Philadelphia.
Wentz will now try to fill the void left by Philip Rivers‘ retirement. Meanwhile, the Eagles are now poised to turn things over to Jalen Hurts, Wentz’s younger and more athletic counterpart.
There were other suitors for Wentz, but the Colts have long been linked to the former No. 2 overall pick. Three former Eagles coaches — Frank Reich, Mike Groh, and Press Taylor — are on the Colts’ staff, giving Wentz instant familiarity with the offense. The Bears, who have one-time Wentz QB coach John DeFilippo on the staff, were also said to be in the mix. Ditto for the Broncos, though they were lukewarm on him. The Broncos will now try to piece together an even bigger package for someone like Deshaun Watson or Russell Wilson. If they can’t land a top-tier QB, they’ll reportedly stay the course with Drew Lock.
Wentz’s injuries and apparent decline hurt his stock, but his contract was also a limiting factor. On the plus side, his cap number will be tamped down to ~$25MM for Indy, due to guarantees that will remain on the Birds’ books.
The Colts will now have Wentz under contract through 2024. His deal calls for a $25.4MM cap hit this year, with $15.4MM guaranteed and a $10MM roster bonus. In 2022, they’ll have him at a $22MM salary/cap hit, with $15MM locked in. After that, the guarantees dissipate, giving the Colts an escape hatch should things go awry.
With the Wentz deal, there are now zero first-round QBs from the 2009-2016 drafts with their original teams, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The deal also marks the trades of the 2016 draft’s No. 1 and No. 2 overall picks, inside of three weeks. Jared Goff — once a rising star in Los Angeles — was shipped to the Lions for Matthew Stafford just days ago.
Panthers To Release DT Kawann Short
After running into some injury misfortune over the past two seasons, Kawann Short is now set to be a first-time free agent. The Panthers are releasing the veteran defensive tackle, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
Short enjoyed a run as one of the league’s top D-tackles but ran into trouble with injuries recently. He will enter free agency having played in just five of the Panthers’ 32 games over the past two seasons.
Despite being a 2013 draftee, Short is already 32. He will not have much momentum going into free agency, but the two-time Pro Bowler should be able to secure a rebound deal in the near future. The Panthers gave Short a five-year, $80MM extension in 2017, and the former second-round pick rewarded the organization with a 7.5-sack season in 2017 and a Pro Bowl nod a year later. Short notched a career-high 11 sacks during Carolina’s 15-1 season in 2015.
The Panthers purged their roster of cornerstone players last year, and Short’s exit will continue a run of prior-regime anchor talents exiting Charlotte. Carolina will save $8.6MM by making this move. Thanks to a 2019 restructure, however, the transaction will cost the team more than $11MM in dead money. (This will not be a post-June 1 cut, Joe Person of The Athletic tweets, so the Panthers will take the entire dead-money hit this year.) Given Short’s injury troubles, this decision was expected.
Short suffered a partial rotator cuff tear early in the 2019 season and damaged his other shoulder in 2020. For his career, the Purdue product has 32.5 sacks and 59 tackles for loss. Short’s release also means the Panthers are down to one starter, Shaq Thompson, from their Super Bowl 50 appearance.
Former Chargers, Buccaneers WR Vincent Jackson Dies
Former NFL wide receiver Vincent Jackson was found dead in a hotel room Monday in Brandon, Florida, Josh Benson of WFLA reports (on Twitter). He was 38.
Jackson checked into the hotel Jan. 11 and had stayed there for weeks, but WFLA adds he was reported missing on Feb. 10. Authorities spoke with Jackson on Saturday. A housekeeper at the hotel found him dead around 11:30am ET Monday. No cause of death has been reported. Deputies did not discover any signs of trauma, according to WFLA.
A former Chargers second-round pick, Jackson starred in the NFL for over a decade. He played 12 seasons with the Bolts and Buccaneers. In six of those, the 6-foot-5 wideout surpassed 1,000 receiving yards. Despite being a Division I-FCS product, Jackson made three Pro Bowls and was one of the league’s better receivers for most of his career.
Jackson’s career ran from 2005-16. In 2018, he was said to be “very happily retired” after a decorated career. For four straight years, Jackson won the Bucs’ Man of the Year award. He signed with Tampa Bay in 2012 and played five seasons with the team.
The Bolts drafted Jackson out of Northern Colorado in 2005. They did not use him much as a rookie, but the small-school product stepped into a key role for the contending Chargers a year later and joined Antonio Gates as the team’s top pass catchers for the next several seasons. Jackson was a key player for the Charger teams that won four straight AFC West titles from 2006-09. Jackson held out in 2010 but reported in-season to preserve an accrued year toward free agency. Ten years ago today, the Chargers franchise-tagged him. A year later, Jackson signed a five-year, $55.5MM deal with the Bucs. Jackson played out that contract.
Jackson posted his final three 1,000-yard campaigns as a member of the Bucs, doing so despite lacking the quarterback stability he enjoyed with Philip Rivers. Jackson wrapped his run as a pro by forming one of the more physically imposing receiving duos in NFL history, with Mike Evans joining him in Tampa in 2014. Both Jackson and Evans eclipsed 1,000 yards that year. For his career, Jackson finished with 540 catches for 9,080 yards and 57 touchdowns.
Texans Release J.J. Watt
The Texans have released J.J. Watt. Watt, 32 in March, recently suggested that he does not want to be part of a rebuild. Now, he’ll have the opportunity to join a contender. In a video posted to Twitter, Watt reflected fondly on his time in Houston and thanked fans for their years of support. 
“I can’t imagine my life without Texas in it. The way you guys treated me — besides draft night, you guys booed me on draft night — every day after that you treated me like family and I truly feel like you are my family,” Watt said. “Since that day, I have tried to do everything in my power to work and earn your respect, and try and make you proud on and off the field. You guys have given me everything and more, and I can only hope that you feel like I’ve given you everything I have.”
With a new coaching staff and front office, things were already expected to look a whole lot different in Houston next season. In the last year, the Texans have parted ways with wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, head coach Bill O’Brien, executive GM Brian Gaine, and longtime president Jamey Rootes. Even if the Texans don’t trade Deshaun Watson, they’ll be down at least one superstar in 2021.
“Change is never easy, especially when it involves the ones you love,” Texas CEO Cal McNair said in a statement. “J.J.’s impact on not only our organization, but the entire Houston community, is unlike any player in our franchise’s history. I told J.J. earlier this week that we will forever consider him a Texan. We take solace in knowing that this is not a goodbye but a ‘see you soon.’ For now, we will build upon the foundation that J.J. created here and forge ahead with our unwavering mission to bring a championship to our city, create memorable experiences for our fans and do great things for Houston.”
Watt, a self described “kid from Wisconsin,” was the No. 11 overall pick in the 2011 draft. He went on to appear in 128 games for the Texans across ten seasons, earning five Pro Bowl nods, multiple First-Team All-Pro selections, and three DPOY trophies. He leaves Houston as the team’s all-time leader in sacks (101), tackles for loss (172), quarterback hits (281), and forced fumbles (25).
Per the terms of Watt’s contract — a record-breaker, at the time of signing in 2014 — Watt was set to earn $17.5MM in 2021, which would have been his walk year. However, that sum was completely non-guaranteed, so the Texans will be left with $0 in dead money as they begin a brand new era.
There have been rumblings about a Watt departure, but the news is stunning nonetheless. Watt resonated with Houstonians in a way that few athletes ever have. Between Watt’s impressive work on the field and his humanitarian efforts off of the field, he’ll always be beloved in Texas, even as he finishes his career elsewhere.
Bears, Colts Pursuing Carson Wentz; Trade Expected Soon
Carson Wentz is expected to have a new team soon. The disgruntled Eagles quarterback is on track to be traded within the next few days, Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com report.
The Eagles are looking for a Matthew Stafford-type trade package, per the ESPN.com duo, who add the Bears and Colts have expressed interest in the five-year veteran. Other teams have inquired about Wentz as well; a trade has been brewing for a few days now.
It is not known what other teams have inquired here. Despite heading into his 13th season, Stafford brought a host of teams to the table. The Bears, Broncos, Colts, Panthers, Patriots, 49ers and Washington were in the mix for the new Rams starter. Of these teams, the Panthers and Broncos have been connected to Deshaun Watson. Wentz could prompt offers from some of these teams, but ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler tweets this market may not be as fierce.
The Stafford deal did well to accelerate Wentz dialogue around the league, per Schefter and Mortensen, who add that some around the league believe a Wentz trade could lay the foundation for more QB swaps — such as a Sam Darnold deal. Several passers have been loosely linked to trades in what has become one of the hottest QB trade markets in many years.
Wentz’s 2020 performance and injury history will certainly dissuade teams from putting together a Stafford-type package, though Fowler notes the Eagles are expected to collect a first-round pick for Wentz. The North Dakota State product was dominant in 2017 (first in Total QBR prior to a December 2017 knee injury) and played well despite a decimated receiving corps in 2019.
The Colts certainly add up as a logical destination, having seen Philip Rivers retire. Frank Reich served as Wentz’s OC in Philly for two seasons, and Wentz ally Press Taylor is expected to join Indianapolis’ staff. The Bears, however, have ex-Eagles QBs coach John DeFilippo on staff. The Colts are projected to hold the second-most cap space, while the Bears are much lower on this list. Chicago will need to make moves to get under the cap, though the franchise has been in need at quarterback for far longer than Indianapolis.
The Eagles continue to insist they would be happy to keep Wentz, per ESPN, but he has not backed down from his desire to leave Philadelphia. The 28-year-old passer’s contract runs through 2024, though an acquiring team could get out of the contract after the 2022 season. Wentz is owed $47.2MM guaranteed through the ’22 season. However, none of his cap hits through 2024 would exceed $27MM, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
It would be the Eagles eating a sizable chunk of the former MVP candidate’s money. Philly would take on an NFL-record (by a considerable margin) $33.8MM in dead cap charges by trading Wentz. Any deal will certainly occur before the third day of the 2021 league year, when Wentz is due a $10MM roster bonus.
The Eagles have the No. 6 overall pick and appear set to have at least one other Round 1 selection and/or a Day 2 pick in this year’s draft, were they to seek an immediate upgrade on Jalen Hurts. The Eagles’ HC interviews centered around a coach who could revitalize Wentz, and a recent coaching staff meeting produced a consensus that Wentz could regain his Pro Bowl form in Philly, per Schefter and Mortensen. But it appears the Nick Sirianni hire will still precede a major quarterback change in Philadelphia.
Trevor Lawrence To Undergo Surgery
Trevor Lawrence will throw for teams much earlier than his draft-eligible quarterback peers. Instead of throwing at Clemson’s pro day in March, Lawrence will do so Feb. 12 before undergoing surgery, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
The widely expected No. 1 overall pick plans to undergo a procedure on his left shoulder labrum, according to Schefter. Lawrence appears set to spend his first NFL offseason recovering but is expected to be ready for training camp, where he will likely be on track to start for the Jaguars.
Doctors discovered this injury recently, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Lawrence will undergo the procedure this month in order to be in better position to return by training camp, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.
This news obviously should not be expected to affect Lawrence’s status atop the draft. The surgery will be on three-year Clemson starter’s non-throwing shoulder, and the Jaguars are amid a rebuild. But this sudden development will begin the QB prodigy’s NFL career in less-than-ideal fashion.
Roger Goodell said Thursday he expects most of the elements from last year’s virtual offseason to return, so it is certainly possible Lawrence would not miss any onsite activities while he recovers from this surgery. The first in-person work for teams in 2021 may well be training camp, as opposed to the pre-pandemic schedule that had rookies at team facilities for rookie camps, OTAs and minicamps. But Lawrence looks likely to spend a good chunk of the league’s second virtual offseason rehabbing his surgically repaired shoulder.
Rams Made Push For Aaron Rodgers Trade
Prior to prying Matthew Stafford from the Lions for a considerable haul of draft picks, the Rams are believed to have attempted to acquire a higher-profile NFC North quarterback.
The trade-happy franchise “made a run” at landing Aaron Rodgers, Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times said during an NFL Network appearance (video link). The Packers, however, insisted they do not plan to trade their future Hall of Fame passer. It is not clear if any offer emerged for Rodgers.
Rodgers’ comments after Green Bay’s NFC championship game loss opened the door to immediate speculation regarding his future, and the decorated quarterback said during the 2020 offseason that finishing his career elsewhere may be the realistic scenario due to the Packers trading up for Jordan Love. Many around the league believe he wants out of Green Bay.
The Rams have not been shy about pulling the trigger on blockbuster trades under GM Les Snead. This one would have ventured to a different level, given Rodgers’ accomplishments and recent level of play. Rodgers is under contract through the 2023 season, though the 37-year-old superstar may now want another new deal.
Stafford will provide Sean McVay with a considerable upgrade in QB talent and will head to Los Angeles for his age-33 season. While Rodgers will turn 38 near the end of next season, he has said he would like to play well into his 40s and showed this past season he remains in elite form. That form was on display in both playoff games, including an efficient divisional-round performance against the Rams. But the Packers, who said earlier this week they were “not idiots” and will be holding onto their franchise quarterback, would be left with only Love as a viable starter on their roster were they to trade Rodgers. It is not clear yet if Love would qualify as such in 2021; he did not take a snap this season.
The Rodgers-Green Bay saga clearly is not over, especially with Love on the roster, but the team was not ready to deal with the Rams — a team that does not hold a 2021 first-round pick.