Deshaun Watson rumors: 3 reasons why Texans should trade QB

It is increasingly likely that, after months of speculation, Texans may decide not to honor Deshaun Watson’s wishes and refuse to negotiate with the quarterback. It is on-brand for an organization that has become synonymous with dysfunction, but ignoring such an exchange request is not only bad for the organization’s future, it is unfair to a player who handled his time in Houston in the right way.

Watson clearly wiped out the Texans. In the past few months, the organization has shown no respect for him by interviewing potential head coach candidates he wanted the team to talk to and trying, on the back end, to praise him in front of teammates at embarrassing levels. This led Watson, understandably, to want to leave, but the Texans are digging their feet into the ground.

It’s one thing to try to turn the corner and convince Watson that Texans can make a winning team, but it’s quite another to be stupid enough not to get involved in conversation. It is a path that will lead to less return on trade, with no guarantee that Deshaun will be happy to stay in Houston.

This shows a level of pride driven by the ego of an organization with nothing to be proud of. Now, a seemingly innocuous tweet from Watson makes everyone nervous, assuming he is talking about his organization.

Of course, Watson wants an organization that allows his voice to be heard. It’s not a franchise being built around past relationships in mega churches, as Texans continue to try to emulate the New England Patriots, despite this technique failing repeatedly in other cities – and hell, it failed Houston with Bill O too ‘Brien.

There are a few main reasons why Texans need to exchange Watson.

Watson wants to leave

The idea of ​​loyalty and respect between players and teams is always seen as a one-sided relationship. Players are expected to do what an organization wants, because they are paid a lot of money to play. However, the reality is that the flow must be mutual.

Houston broke that agreement when they didn’t even bother talking to the coaches that Watson wanted to work with. It would have been the minimum of respect that the organization could offer, and they failed to bring that together.

So while it may be tempting to say “Watson must get over this” if you are a Texan fan, there is a reality that keeping a player dissatisfied does profound damage to an organization. Not just because of the influence of having the team leader unhappy, and possibly spreading across the organization – but that keeping a player like this sends a message to all agents that they should not recommend Texans to their customers.

This second part is significant, because as the money talks, these minor elements are the difference between a player coming to Houston or choosing another team when the money is the same. The future of the organization’s ability to attract free agents may depend on how they treat Watson now.

Watson’s business value will never get better than it is now.

In this off-season, we have seen ex-first-class defenders being traded for almost nothing because they have been kept beyond their peak. There is no doubt that Watson is more talented than Jared Goff or Carson Wentz, but the point is that waiting too long will only make things worse.

There are a variety of possible trade packages floating around from various teams, and all are equivalent to a king’s rescue. Make no mistake: Watson is worth it, but with these possible deals, Texans could completely overhaul their entire squad with a bunch of established players and choices.

It is a hard pill to swallow. Getting rid of a prominent quarterback always is, but there is an advantage here: if you are the front office, you are getting such incredible feedback that, if you have faith in your scouting departments, you should be able to use the feedback to do the Texans, a better overall team, instead of having Watson and a bunch of magic beans – like Houston does now.

If Texans are determined to keep Deshaun Watson unhappy, the situation will get worse. Perhaps he is left out or refuses to gamble – possibly losing its potential commercial value. Maybe he plays, but with fewer weapons on a declining team and looks worse by extension, also reducing his value. In either case, it will only get older, which will also drop its commercial value.

Unless Houston really believes that they can make Watson happy again, there is no logical reason to keep him in the group. Expecting this only harms the team.

It is what is best for business.

Texans are in the midst of complete demolition and reconstruction, whether they want to admit it or not. It will take several years to bring the team back to prominence, and it is not useful to have a great defender and nothing else.

See, Watson had one of the best seasons he ever had with Houston in 2020, and the team still finished 4-12. This is not an organization that needs some adjustments to reach the playoffs. There is a need for stellar power spread across 53, and the records show that.

Negotiating Watson would speed up the process. While Houston would likely have a much worse defender in the center in the immediate future, the long term would be much brighter if they split up now. It also recovers the goodwill of agents and players in the league, who will now see that Houston respects the players enough to listen to their wishes.

It may be difficult, but it’s time for the Texans to swallow their pride and change their superstar.