I just did. My post was to those who believe this is because of racism. Since we're all speculating. Do you want to discuss any of this or act like a weasel about it? Sheesh.
We already discussed the racism thing multiple times and multiple times it became obvious that we are just going to have to agree to disagree. On top of the fact that I said multiple times I don't think the main reason Watson wants out is racism.
I read the situation pretty differently, although obviously none of us have any real insight. On a base level, when you sign someone to a contract of that magnitude, you are stating that they are the most valuable person in your entire organization by margin that’s hard to even realize. $39 million per year, when most GM’s make ~$3 million top end and coaches don’t usually break the $10 million mark. Yes he is being paid for his physical skill, but more than that. He is a leader of the franchise as well, and the marketed face. There is an understanding that this type of player is still under the Coach and GM in most cases, but that respect is usually earned as the player is playing under his rookie contract. However in the unusual situation such as this, how can you simply insert two random guys and expect there to be genuine respect that hasn’t occurred naturally? If you earned 4-10x times what your brand new boss earned, wouldn’t it be a little difficult for you to take them seriously in the moments you disagree? There is really only one solution to this that I see, and that is to hire someone that already has your respect, or in this case, Deshaun Watson’s respect. My takeaway is that this was the agreement that Watson and owners had, and then this was not followed through on.
Well he’s playing it kinda smart....lots of noise and smoke but very little, if any of it, directly from him, so there’s plausible deniability. I also feel that the longer this goes on, it tarnishes his image. First, this noise about not being consulted in GM and/or HC hires is a bit much for me....yes, it’s a bad look if the team told him they would consult him and then didn’t, but at the end of the day, I’m assuming his player contract does not include language that allows him to participate in coaching or GM hires, right? He IS a player not a team exec, right? Get over it....hardly a reason to bail on a long term contract. second, the racism....I have no idea how that org is run and what those owners do. I wouldn’t be shocked if there was truth to the claims, but no one outside that building knows for sure how bad it is. But I also don’t think this was a sudden or recent development either....whatever factors exist now most likely were also present when he signed his deal....it seems like a convenient claim now that this is escalating, but I would guess that it existed for a while. This is a tough subject and an important one, so I don’t want to minimize it, but it wasn’t bad enough for him to sign a huge deal not too long ago, so what happened between then and now? third, the realization that the team is screwed roster-wise and cap-wise likely has a large role in all this as well, and that’s a bad sign too...his contract is part of that, right? And it would also impact any other new team he’d go to. It’s odd to me because all I’ve ever heard was that he’s a great guy, stand up guy, etc. and he has been it’s just this behavior is not a great look....signing a large deal and THEN bringing up a bunch of claims to get out of a deal you just signed is not a great look. And it’s a concern....if he is doing this to the Texans, what’s to say he won’t do it to us after a year or two if he’s unhappy with some aspect? For me, this is not at all about “you signed a deal so stick to it as a point of honor”...I believe that if teams can cut players to get out of contracts early if the player doesn’t live up to their deal, then I have no real issue with a player also wanting to renegotiate if he outperforms the deal. Fair is fair, right? but that isn’t the case here. This is different. We can choose to ignore it because he happens to be a great player at a position of dire need for us, or we can give it some amount of weight, but it is what it is...a player just signed a large long term deal and now wants out of the deal he just signed. Not a great look.
One thing I noticed on spotrac is that it may make more sense for Houston to trade Watson after June 1st. If they trade him prior, the dead cap number is a little over 21 million, if they trade him after, that number gets spread across '21 and '22 with most of it in '22. I know that in the grand scheme a 21mil hit isn't all that significant but it adds up for a team whose cap is as badly managed and theirs was.
It’s as simple as this really. Two extremely high profile entities had a handshake agreement and one party reneged.
Only thing is they would not get the desperately needed 2021 draft picks. If he is traded it will have to be beforehand.
I can see why the relationship might be strained. I don't quite understand why ownership wanted to include him in the decision for a general manager and if they said they wanted his opinion and reneged I think it was pretty stupid on their side. The coaching hire I can see wanting input. I also have to believe there was a bit more of a disagreement on the GM hiring side than simply disregarding even talking to him about it. But hopefully we can get some clarity to what actually happens. Do you think it's plausible that Watson wanted one candidate, while the organization simply wanted another and went with what they felt was the best hire? Could be wrong but a lot of this is speculation at this point.
The story is that management never even mentioned Casserio, ignored his recommendations then hired Casserio.
I don't neccesarily think so. If the texans hire McCown they could still want Darnold. And they could want to go into a full rebuild and while they couldn't get as many pick from as many teams there is one team they could still get 3 1st round picks in 2 years from, the Jets. Also it would make more sense from Watsons PoV because it would allow them to use this years slow of picks and cap to build around him. Also, a complete rebuild in Houston makes sense due to cap constraint and such. Darnold is still young and if they believe they can change him setting up for the future would work. I count nothing out at this point. McCown may want Darnold.
that would be so great. Texans hire McCown and he requests to coach his old flame in Darnold. That couldn't be any better for us
Especially if they want to trade after June 1st. We could give next 3 1st rounders, use these 2 and free agency to build around Watson. All of a sudden we are a contender. But again that's a pipedream.
Ordinarily I would say you can’t rule anything out, except that all reports are that he offered multiple candidates and it’s a public fact that they didn’t even offer interviews to any of them.
I then think that’s the main issue no doubt on why he wants out. However, I think there is something else that the media and fans don’t know. It just feels that way..
Here is what happened after Watson singed a 156 million contract extension: The Texans started off the season poorly. Watson led a locker room revolt against the HC. Maybe he had a point - but its not going to endear you to the owner. But he relents and the coach is fired. Watson rails against interim GM. He is only there for the remainder of the season and Watson is still unhappy. This is the second time during the season Watson is ruffling the owner. In November a friend states that Watson "believes" he will have input on FO hiring because he just signed a big contract. Its never said a verbal agreement was made. It was all an assumption because he was earning so much money. Watson's season of chaos ends, with the Texans looking terrible, loosing to a Joe Burrow'less Bengal team down the stretch. Texas hire Caserio as GM and Watson pouts that he wasn't consulted. Rumors of Watson wanting out begin to spring up. Texans dont interview one of Watson's choices for HC - Selah. It is possible that the Texans knew they had no chance with Selah, or maybe they genuinely were going another direction. Or maybe they are trying to send Watson a message that he is not the owner of the team and cant hire and fire HCs and GMs at his whim. Either way there are two sides to this feud at this point. A feud with the owner that Watson brought on. The owner had just given him a 156 million reasons to keep this in house. But Watson starts, and continues to allow, trade rumors that are putting the texans owner in the center of a storm. Watson got paid and acted like he was the owner of the team. Is this the type of culture JD and Selah are attempting to install here? DO we really think Watson is going to love the Johnson's? Do you really think JD and Selah don't see Watson as someone who could call for their heads if things go even a little south for him? He now has a reputation with coaches and GMs of being trouble. How much his talent makes up for that is the X factor. Can we quit acting like Watson is the victim of some terrible wrong. He had a choice of becoming an FA next season or committing to the Texans for massive wealth. When you sign that contract you have an obligation to the team and the person who paid you. He took the money and became a malcontent who is acting like he should be running the FO. This also means nobody can truly trust him to honor a contract. Its simply a tantrum that is revealing his character and he is using his talent, not his character, as a weapon.
I get it if you don't want the trade but making up thing to try to prove a point actually does the opposite. First O'Brien was both the HC and the HM. Second according to all account they liked each other. Third, it was outside information that said Watson was told by the owner he would be consulted, which was later not denied by said owner. In fact he was then consulted on HC, to which the owner ignored. None of what you said was true. Now there maybe some reasons we do not know about, but don't keep making stuff up and making yourself look stupid please.
