Houston Head Coach David Culley Reiterates That Deshaun Watson is Currently a Member of the Texans
By Liam McKeone
As of now, Deshaun Watson is a member of the Houston Texans. Despite his desire for a trade and the possibility that he will sit out 2021 rather than don a Texans uniform again, the team has refused to take any calls about a potential trade. For now. It makes sense that their new head coach/general manager combo in David Culley and Nick Caesiro are in no rush to ship off their best player. It's worth waiting to see if there is even the slimmest of chances that Watson can be appeased and will still play for the franchise.
But the writing is on the wall in boldface font and unless something dramatically changes Houston will have to bite the bullet and trade their franchise quarterback. Culley and Watson have met, but Watson reiterated his desire to be traded in the conversation. NFL reporter Jim Trotter had Culley on his podcast today and said that, based on Culley's choice of words about the Texans' 2021 season, he does not believe Watson will be on the roster come September. When asked outright, Culley said Watson was the quarterback right now, but things can change.
Huddle&Flow drops later today with Texans coach David Culley. Based on the conversation, I firmly believe Deshaun Watson will be traded. Culley didn’t explicitly say that, but when using terms like on the roster “right now” & “we want guys who are all in”—writing is on the wall.
— Jim Trotter (@JimTrotter_NFL) March 11, 2021
Culley when asked if Watson will be their starting QB in Week 1 of the 2021 season: "He is our starting quarterback right now. He is our starting quarterback. Things happen between now and then. We'll see what happens."
— Jim Trotter (@JimTrotter_NFL) March 11, 2021
You know, this sounds an awful like Rams GM Les Snead when he was asked back in January about Jared Goff. He said Jared Goff was the quarterback of the team right now and didn't elaborate. Less than two weeks later, Goff was traded to the Detroit Lions.
On the other side of that, Mike Mayock has given the same answer about Derek Carr two offseasons in a row now and he's still in a Raiders uniform. Kevin Colbert said something similar about Ben Roethlisberger last month and still managed to come to an agreement to keep Big Ben as the Steelers QB for 2021. It's a cookie-cutter answer that can tell you as much as you want it to. At its core, it is true at the very least. Watson is, in fact, the quarterback right now, even if he desperately wishes that to change.
Culley had a press conference today in which he addressed the whole thing again, and was a little bit more adamant than he was on Trotter's podcast. Which is to say that he repeatedly acknowledged that Watson is currently a member of the Houston Texans and is therefore the team's quarterback.
David Culley on Deshaun Watson trade request, deferred that to Nick Caserio, added: 'We are very committed to Deshaun as our quarterback. He is our quarterback.'
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 11, 2021
David Culley: 'I just know he's a Houston Texans. He's ours and we're going to go with that'
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 11, 2021
David Culley, asked if Deshaun Watson can be talked out of his trade request: 'It's not a matter of me trying to change anyone's mind. We're committed to him. He's a Houston Texan and we're going to move forward with that'
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 11, 2021
David Culley on contingency plan if Deshaun Watson doesn't report: 'Right now, there is no contingency plan. He is a Houston Texan. We're committed to him, as I said before.'
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 11, 2021
Asked if Deshaun Watson is committed to the Texans, Davi Culley replied: 'Yes, he is."
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 11, 2021
When asked how he determined that: "He's a Houston Texan."
So, in case anyone was wondering, Watson is a Houston Texan. No one can disagree. Were I a betting man, I'd put a lot of money on hearing this exact answer over and over and over again until the Texans finally rip the band-aid off and start taking trade calls. Until then, Culley will be stuck doing this again and again like Sisyphus and his boulder.