Andre Johnson Rips Texans, Urges Deshaun Watson to Leave Houston

Andre Johnson is one of the top two players in Houston Texans history behind only JJ Watt. He suited up for the organization for 12 years and was one of the best receivers in the NFL for much of that timespan. Sadly, Johnson also failed to make much of an impact in the postseason; he and his team only managed to make it to the playoffs twice in Johnson's lengthy career in Houston.

The heir to Johnson's throne as a Texan, Deshaun Watson, has already appeared in the playoffs twice and even won a game. He is also very displeased with the organization right now and is reportedly seeking a trade. The Texans promised Watson they would take his opinion into account when it came to hiring a new GM and coach after firing Bill O'Brien in October, but then simply did not do that. Watson has reportedly gone radio silent and hasn't spoken to new GM Nick Caserio yet.

Johnson, watching from afar, decided to chime in today.

Oof. "Known for wasting players careers" is a pretty damning pronouncement from a guy who stuck around for as long as Johnson did and is the player most strongly associated with the franchise alongside Watt.

Another former Texans great, DeAndre Hopkins, endorsed Johnson's feeling.

Jack Easterby is a name that has gained quite a bit of notoriety over the last two years. Originally a team chaplain for the New England Patriots, Easterby appeared on the general public's radar after Brian Gaine was fired as general manager and Easterby was promoted to VP of Football Operations. Easterby stuck around after O'Brien was fired in October and took over as interim GM, and a Sports Illustrated profile from earlier this season had a source compare him to Littlefinger from Game of Thrones. Which, ya know, isn't super great if you watched the show.

It really is baffling how poorly the Texans have handled all this. They convinced Watson, a top-five QB for the foreseeable future barring injury, to sign a four-year extension that would keep him in Houston through 2025. Then nobody above O'Brien in the food chain prevented the former coach from trading Hopkins last offseason. After O'Brien was fired, Watson clearly needed some reassurance that the organization was committed to winning, especially after 2020 represented a burned season of both his and Watt's primes.

They've failed to give him that. If they can't mend the relationship, Houston will eventually be forced to trade away the future of their franchise, a quarterback who could win them their first Super Bowl. It doesn't help that gasoline keeps getting dumped onto the dumpster fire in Houston. This time, it was from a rather unexpected source.