Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson launches during the first half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions on Thursday, November 26, 2020 in Detroit. (AP Photo / Paul Sancya)
We are not a city of champions. We are a collection of masochists. Our main professional sports franchises are again a tapestry tapestry.
Attention, Phoenix. It can always get worse.
We could always be Houston. And considering all things, it wouldn’t hurt to pick up the phone and see if your NFL team would like to switch.
Consider:
Just over 54 weeks ago, the Texans led the Chiefs 24-0 in a playoff game. It was 10 minutes before the second half. The football world was stunned.
It was quite a journey for the inhabitants of Houston, who live in a highly populated city, without a recognizable horizon or any distinctive features. Their sports scene was even worse.
His beloved Oilers once exploded a 32-point lead in a playoff game and left for Tennessee. After five untitled decades, the Astros betrayed their way to the top, becoming the scourge of baseball. The Rockets have been a long-standing ebacle (without a ‘D’), their only championship coming after Michael Jordan’s unexpected retirement, where James Harden just left in a contentious divorce.
But the Texans overcame them all, becoming the NFL franchise to be avoided at all costs, one that now uses a scarlet letter.
After that fateful playoff game in January 2020, where the Chiefs scored 51 of the game’s 58 final points, the Texans lost Tyrann Mathieu to the Chiefs; left Jadeveon Clowney for Seattle; left DeAndre Hopkins for Arizona for a failed David Johnson; and learned that Deshaun Watson formally requested an exchange.
Houston fans are trapped in a metaphorical hell, a sporting Hades, and if you’ve been there over the summer, the weather is almost the same. But there are many points of interest in the future:
Are Watson’s demands ushering in an era of player empowerment? A move that swept the NBA, where professional basketball players feigned disappointment; disrupt team harmony; and do whatever is necessary to negotiate with a city of your choice.
LeBron James started the trend. Kevin Durant took it to another level, joining a team of 73 wins that he failed to defeat in the playoffs. Eric Bledsoe tweeted his unhappiness at a beauty salon. Anthony Davis fled New Orleans. Harden couldn’t get along with Chris Paul or Russell Westbrook, forcing his way to Brooklyn.
Watch out, NFL. Watson and Lions star Matthew Stafford recently requested negotiations. Aaron Rodgers of the Packers may be reflecting on the same. It is a dangerous time for a league that has always protected the stability of smaller markets.
In Arizona, the biggest question is whether the Cardinals should take the opportunity and race against Watson. The answer is yes, definitely.
Watson is the high-level elite, from courage to passion, from the pocket quarterback to the double threat, from armed talent to leadership. He is 25 years old and is the closest to a certainty you will find in the position. Kyler Murray is on a very different journey and may one day end up in the same place.
But it is a no-brainer.
If you can convince Watson to approve an exchange for Arizona, approving our climate, a friendly organization and a meeting with Hopkins, the Cardinals will certainly offer a fair price in return: a legend of a Texas student in Murray and Isaiah Simmons; or a first round draft choice in 2022.
This can work, and it is certainly worth a call.
After all, it’s Texans.