Texans Keep Successfully Pissing Deshaun Watson Off
If you ever wanted to see what it would take for an NFL franchise to completely alienate the best player on its team, just take a look at how the Texans have treated Deshaun Watson the last couple of weeks. Hell, just look at their decisions over the last few days and you'll see a team intent on pissing off its franchise quarterback and succeeding at every turn.
A few days ago, the Texans fired equipment manager Mike Parson and his staff. According to Adam Schefter, Watson had a close relationship with Parson and the move has upset many players. J.J. Watt was the first to voice his feelings publicly on social media.
Mike Parson and his entire equipment staff are incredible people who went above and beyond to help every player in the locker room every single day.
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) February 7, 2021
A great man and a great staff who shouldn’t be out of work for long.
Anybody would be lucky to have them. pic.twitter.com/66hSlVlIpq
Beyond firing a friend, word also leaked that the Texans are rebuffing any trade inquiries for Watson from other teams. They reportedly remain steadfast in their desire to make things work with Watson. The feeling isn't mutual, as Watson still wants out of Houston.
The issue with Houston not discussing trade opportunities now is the longer they wait, the fewer teams will be willing or able to trade for Watson. We already saw Matt Stafford get traded to the Rams. The latest reports indicate Carson Wentz and Sam Darnold are likely to be traded soon. I can't imagine Watson enjoys remaining in limbo while other quarterbacks get the fresh starts he's seeking.
Of course, this is just the icing on the exploding cake the Texans handed Watson in 2020. They also fired well-respected PR VP Amy Palcic, which led to anger from many, didn't involve Watson in the hiring of new general manager Nick Caserio and have kept Jack Easterby employed despite many players saying he's the root of all of Houston's internal issues.
Watson has yet to speak to Caserio despite the latter reaching out to the former, and is reportedly prepared to hold out the 2021 season if Houston don't grant him his trade wish. The Texans' latest actions won't help their cause. It will likely just piss Watson off more. But it seems they don't care about Watson any more than they cares about the intern transcribing quotes next to the printers. If they did, they wouldn't have made these decisions or the hundreds of bad ones before that either.