4 people to blame for Texans QB Deshaun Watson seeking a trade
Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is seeking a trade from the AFC South club.
The nightmare could have been avoided, but now it is a harsh reality that makes Houston sports fans pine for the comforts and tranquility of 2020.
Here are four people to blame for Watson wanting to leave the Bayou City.
1. Deshaun Watson
(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
He knew what he was getting into when he signed his contract extension in early September of 2020 before the season kickoff. There were no secrets as to who was gaining power in the organization and who was influencing chairman and CEO Cal McNair. Watson signed up anyway. If he hadn't signed the deal, he would be a free agent, free and clear, and not having to be a part of a trade not seen since the Herschel Walker trade in 1989, and there are no Mike Lynns as GM in the NFL.
2. Jack Easterby
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Easterby was brought in as the executive vice president of team development in April of 2019. He was promoted to executive vice president of football operations after the playoff win over the Buffalo Bills in January of 2020. Now, he has developed a team whose three-time Pro Bowler, who is under contract through 2025, wants to leave. How is that for culture?
3. Bill O'Brien
(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
He never got the most out of Watson and forced him to play his brand of football rather than continuing to tailor his offense around the national championship winner from Clemson. The best years the franchise had with Watson were wasted by mediocre play-calling and substandard game-planning that cost Houston a chance to get first-round byes in 2018 and 2019.
4. Cal McNair
(AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)
McNair went with Easterby over virtually everybody. The sign the organization was spiraling out of control was when they made a Jets-esque move of firing their general manger the weekend before mandatory minicamp on June 7, 2019. McNair allowed a "culture," here more on par with what grows in a Petri dish, to fester that has expelled one superstar in DeAndre Hopkins and now potentially has Deshaun Watson leaving town. As chairman and CEO of the team since his father's passing on Nov. 23, 2018, McNair has been where the buck stops. However, the steadiness and stability that was his father's hallmark of the Texans is no longer in Houston, and maybe their franchise quarterback won't be either.
