Texans seem to be preparing for rebuild with no assets to do it

The Houston Texans might be in the worst position of any of the 32 NFL teams heading into the 2021 offseason, and frankly, that could be an understatement.

I hate to say I told you so, but…I told you so.

The Texans have the number one crisis in the NFL right now (at least roster-wise) with star quarterback Deshaun Watson demanding a trade out of town and not backing down from his stance.

Watson has met with new Texans head coach David Culley “out of respect” and in that meeting, Watson reiterated his desire to be traded.

The bad blood between the Texans and their star quarterback runs all the way up to owner Cal McNair and one of his most trusted employees, executive vice president of football operations Jack Easterby.

Although Watson was apparently told he would have some say in the people the team hired at general manager and head coach, the Texans basically went over his head to hire Nick Caserio (a fine candidate, as far as we all know) who was someone the organization has coveted for years from the New England Patriots.

Watson’s displeasure became public after the Caserio hire and prior to the Texans making a head coaching hire.

Since that time, things have been relatively quiet in Houston.

They have released JJ Watt, the heart and soul of the team the last 10 years.

They have decided not to franchise tag wide receiver Will Fuller, the team’s leader in touchdowns and yards per reception.

They cut starting center Nick Martin to save cap space.

They cut running back Duke Johnson for cap space as well, despite the fact that he was just acquired last year for a third-round draft choice.

Have we mentioned yet in this post that the Texans do not have a pick in the top 65 of the 2021 NFL Draft?

The Texans appear to be preparing for a complete rebuild of the roster without the assets to do much of anything in the immediate future. Nobody in Houston would share this sentiment, but this has the look of a team that is in full-on tank mode especially if they don’t trade Deshaun Watson and he sits out games.

The time for the Texans to trade Deshaun Watson is now. Houston has to recoup assets in 2021 and 2022 in order to build the roster the way Nick Caserio and David Culley want to build it.

They would, of course, prefer to have Watson around, but at this point, that doesn’t matter. It’s not a coincidence that longtime Houston reporter John McClain is publicly taking the stance that Houston should trade Watson now.

After Watson met with head coach David Culley, Culley undoubtedly conferred with upper management and talked over their options.

At this point, Houston really doesn’t have one.

Watson doesn’t want to be there and he is likely willing to sit out games to get his wish. If they pass up on 2021 NFL Draft capital, they are going to look like even bigger fools than Bill O’Brien has already made them look.

Houston can get an absolute bounty in return for Watson. It would mean not having Watson for the long-term, but that’s not going to happen anyway at this point. The relationship between Watson and Houston management is destroyed and irreparable.

Teams like the Jets, Dolphins, Panthers, Broncos, 49ers, Washington, Bears, Raiders, and probably many others would throw trade packages at the Texans that they would need plenty of time to talk over and sift through.

Watson has a no-trade clause, so he will have say in wherever he goes if and when the Texans finally relent and decide to trade him.

For now, this looks like a team preparing for a rebuild with no assets to do it. They can change that in a big way with one move.