Houston Texans Receive Praise For Bold Osweiler Move
By Erik Lambert
The reactions by the mainstream media to the Houston Texans giving up a 2nd round pick in 2018 to move out Brock Osweiler were mixed.
Some understood the move, others could only laugh at the fact the Texans gave up a ton of money to get the QB away from Denver and then compound that mistake by surrendering valuable draft capital. In essence it’s probably the most costly blunder ever made by the franchise. It’s still not clear who pushed for the move in the first place, but it was plain the coaching staff and front office wanted him gone as quickly as possible.
Cleveland had the cap space to absorb his contract, so the two teams worked out a deal. Houston escaped from out under the heavy guaranteed money still owed to him but at the price of another high draft choice. It feels like a desperate move, but some people disagree. ESPN asked around and one coach said it was the right decision.
"“A lot of teams wouldn’t have admitted it was an obvious mistake to sign him and would keep banging their heads against the wall, trying see if he finally gets it,” the coach said. “[The Texans] have a championship-level defense, and if they can get any type of offensive production, they can compete in the AFC. The guy was a terrible QB … he wasn’t only not winning — he was losing them games.”"
Knee-jerk move?
While there’s no debate continuing to play Osweiler would’ve been a fools errand, the sticking point will be the trade. Was it really necessary? By all accounts it looks like the Texans are going to roll with rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson as their starter. This is something they could’ve done without ever trading him. Sure they would’ve had to eat more money but they could’ve held onto the draft pick, kept Osweiler on the bench and just gone with Watson.
Instead they chose to cut ties entirely. Gutsy if nothing else. Now they’re without 1st and 2nd round picks in 2018. No doubt they’re praying Watson works out otherwise they mortgaged the future in order to remove what was ultimately a temporary problem.