Is the Chad Hansen release a morning star to the end of the Deshaun Watson era?
The Houston Texans released receiver Chad Hansen on March 23. Normally, the release of a mid to bottom roster player would not mean much amid the transactions and team construction of the offseason, but the release of Hansen could signal there is no going back for the organization as it relates to quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Hansen’s foray into the Texans’ organization was during training camp in July of 2019. The former New York Jets 2017 fourth-round pick had spent all of 2018 and much of the 2019 offseason bouncing off of the different 90-man rosters and practice squads of the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, Tennessee Titans, and New Orleans Saints. With Houston, though he was a practice squad player for the 2019 season, Hansen had found a home.
In the 2020 offseason, Hansen followed Watson wherever he traveled and accompanied him at all of his offseason workouts.
When Will Fuller was suspended for the final five games, and Randall Cobb’s availability was compromised with nagging injuries, Hansen was called up to the practice squad and played against the Indianapolis Colts on Dec. 6, 2020. The 6-2, 202-pound wideout caught five passes for a career-high 101 yards.
“He can go up there and make contested catches, he’s going to be where he needs to be and he’s going to catch the ball,” Watson told reporters on Dec. 10, 2020. “He’s going to compete. That’s the biggest thing. We’ve got guys that’s going to compete and that care about winning, that care about the success of the team. That’s what Chad is all about. He cares about the team. He doesn’t say much. He just goes to work each and every day. Anything that we ask him to do, he’s going to do it full speed and he’s going to go out there and do whatever he can to help us win.”
Hansen was a receiver that Watson made. With the Jets, as a rookie, Hansen caught just nine passes for 94 yards in 15 games, only one of which he started. If the Texans don’t intend to keep Watson, then why keep a receiver of his that only seemed to be productive when he was on the field?
