The Houston Texans are stuck in football limbo and have until Nov. 2 at 4 p.m. to lift themselves from it. As the trade deadline looms, the team absolutely must deal Deshaun Watson if they’re looking to find any sort of success in the future.
I’m not going to dive into the specifics of Deshaun Watson’s off-field issues. We all ought to be under the assumption that it’ll be pretty hard to be proven innocent after 22 civil lawsuits of sexual misconduct and ten criminal complaints. Regardless of any opinions, there’s no denying it’s nearly statistically impossible to find a way out of that. There’s a decent chance Watson never sees the gridiron again, which is the driving force on why the Texans need to act fast.
We’re sitting in a bit of a legal stalemate while investigations are underway. With that, Watson is currently eligible to play for Houston if he and the franchise so chose. If you forgot, Watson officially requested a trade in January over vexation with the front office and a lowly 4-12 record as he led the league in passing yards.
“In the latest version (of the personal conduct policy), a player can be placed on the commissioner’s exempt list if he is charged with a felony or violent crime,” NFL insider Ian Rapoport said.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell added Tuesday that the league doesn’t have sufficient information to place Watson on the commissioner’s exempt list.
Since Watson hasn’t currently been charged, he would be eligible to play immediately if traded. The Dolphins and Panthers are two of the headliners in the pursuit of Watson, according to numerous sources around the league. A rumored mock three team trade that would send Tua Tagovailoa to the Washington Football Team was reported by Texans beat writer Coty Davis, and eyes are shifting towards this as the most likely trade outcome. However, after Sam Darnold’s poor play over the last few weeks, Carolina has reentered the bidding for Watson.
Let’s say for a minute that Deshaun Watson has no legal issues. He has no interest in playing for the Texans again, and there isn’t much of anything that could change this. Watson is still adamant he wants nothing to do with Houston. Even before the allegations came out, the relationship between Watson and the team was fractured. Why should the Texans waste their time trying to appeal to someone who, first and foremost, is under criminal investigation, and also has repeatedly reiterated he doesn’t want to be there?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m fully aware that Watson is indisputably one of the best quarterbacks in the league. The Texans’ asking price is high — and understandably so. However, at this point, no team is willing to deal three first round picks and starting caliber players for a guy who may never play the game again. Houston needs to lower the asking price and take what they can before any more details on his case are released.
General manager Nick Caserio wants a combination of six high picks for him. Houston has already dropped the ball on trading him sooner as the lawsuits piled up, and delaying it any longer is only more dangerous. This trade can go one of two ways. Houston deals Watson to Miami or Carolina for a lower price than what they initially asked for; he ends up playing, his innocence is proven and the Texans get the short end of the stick but still end up with a first-rounder or two. The other possibility, which is much more likely, is that Watson gets traded while more incriminating evidence surfaces, and he’s arrested, banned or suspended from the NFL. In that case, Houston wins because it squeezed any value out of him, and its trade partner gets nothing.
It’s a shame this situation has happened at all, but the Texans are one of the worst-run franchises in the NFL. It’s time to stop dragging their feet and lift the anchor that’s only making this shipwreck worse.
Christo Siegel is a sophomore studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnist do not reflect those of The Post. Do you agree? Tell Christo by tweeting him at @imchristosiegel.
