The end of Deshaun Watson’s term in Texas seems just a matter of time.
“There is a growing sense of people in and around the Texans organization that Deshaun Watson played his last chance for the team,” Adam Schefter of ESPN tweeted on Sunday. “It’s the start of the low season, a long time ago, but Watson’s feelings cannot and should not be underestimated.”
The split seems inevitable at this point amid an avalanche of news about Watson’s frustration with Texans, enigmatic smoke signals on social media and trade rumors.
However, despite the deteriorating relationship with the organization, Pro Football Talk reported on Sunday that the disgruntled defender has not yet formally requested an exchange.
“I was on a 2, so I took it to 10,” Watson tweeted on Friday, almost identical to an ESPN report from last weekend, which said Watson’s level of anger was a “2” when the team switched to DeAndre Hopkins last year before moving up in this off-season.
Watson’s discontent is directed at the Houston leadership, namely owner Cal McNair and vice president of football operations Jack Easterby. McNair promised to include the three-time Pro Bowler in the process of filling the vacancies for coach and general manager left after Bill O’Brien was fired four games in the 2020 season.
Watson – who is under contract until 2025 – has not been consulted on hiring new general manager Nick Caserio. The 25-year-old asked the board to interview Robert Saleh – the former 49ers defensive coordinator and new Jets coach – who was ignored. He also lobbied Chiefs’ offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who received high praise from Patrick Mahomes.
The Texans hesitated to request an interview with Bieniemy and will have to wait until Kansas City is eliminated from the playoffs or after the Super Bowl due to anti-tampering league rules.
In a long Sports Illustrated story about the Texans chaos under Easterby, a person close to Watson said of the quarterback, “He just wants to leave.”
After a very successful university career, Clemson Tiger joined the Texans in 2017 as the 12th overall choice in the draft. He completed 67.8 percent of his passes for 14,539 yards, 104 touchdowns, 36 interceptions and amassed 1,677 run yards and 17 run touchdowns in his first four NFL seasons. The Texans are 29-35 in the regular season and have advanced to the playoffs twice since Watson joined the team, but ended up with a disappointing 4-12 record this season.
Another pain point for Watson is the lack of a “winning culture” in the organization – similar to his time at Clemson, whom he led to a 2016 CFP National Championship victory.
“We just need a whole culture change,” said Watson after the season, when asked about the search for the coach. “We need a leader so that we can follow him … a lot of different ideas and a lot of people thinking they have that power, and that’s not how it is.”
Watson signed a four-year contract, $ 156 million in September, which carries a limit of $ 15.94 million reached and $ 67.14 million reached dead limit in 2021 according to Spotrac.
Meanwhile, Watson appeared to be in New York on Sunday, according to posts in his Instagram stories, after vacationing with his girlfriend.