I don’t think so. By stats and eye test, Cutler was a decided cut below Watson as a player; unlike Watson, he certainly was not one of the best starting QB in the league circa 2009.Denver trading Cutler at that time was close to this.
I don’t think so. By stats and eye test, Cutler was a decided cut below Watson as a player; unlike Watson, he certainly was not one of the best starting QB in the league circa 2009.Denver trading Cutler at that time was close to this.
I agree, it was still pretty unprecedented at the time. Cutler was definitely seen as a future star though I think.I don’t think so. By stats and eye test, Cutler was a decided cut below Watson as a player; unlike Watson, he certainly was not one of the best starting QB in the league circa 2009.
Miami could easily top that if they wanted to.#2, Darnold, a 2022 first rounder...that's all something I would easily give up if I'm the Jets, and it would be hard for anyone to top that.
So are Lovie Smith & Josh McCown, if those rumored moves come to pass. I don't know that religion is the #1 quality I'd look for in a coach.Culley is a born-again evangelical Christian. My sense from everything that I have read and heard about Easterby and McNair, this seems like his most important quality to them.
We will be fortunate to win four games next season.
Yeah, it looks like they are putting faith as the determining factor for their hires. And there's nothing wrong with that, but for a billion dollar investment that is an NFL franchise you would think there would be other factors looked at.So are Lovie Smith & Josh McCown, if those rumored moves come to pass. I don't know that religion is the #1 quality I'd look for in a coach.
So for what seems to be their plan, it all aligns.But something else stood out to McNair during the 3½-hour trip: Caserio’s devotion to his family and his religion.
I think BB basically cares about football. You could be a fundamentalist Christian, an atheist, or everything in between, and he wouldn't care, as long as you did your job with the team well.I believe it was Holley's book that had an anecdote about the Belichick kids asking their parents partway through a trip to Europe about the guy with the circle around his head that they kept seeing everywhere. It was Jesus, and BB said something like "We might be in trouble for that one."
Funny that he has had such super-religious people working around him in the past given his apparent lack of interest in religion.
Easy to say that now - as I recall, the Houston basketball team made similar statements initially about a different disgruntled star.Ugh. Did he really call him "the player"?
View: https://twitter.com/TomPelissero/status/1355216747696017410
@TomPelissero
#Texans GM Nick Caserio says he wants to reiterate the team's commitment to Deshaun Watson: "We have zero interest in trading the player."
They have some leverage. The question is, do they really want to exercise that leverage with a player who has been so open about wanting out ... especially a player that by position needs to be the team leader?Lombardi covered the Texans leverage on his pod. It’s not nothing.
Bingo. This isn’t Logan Mankins, Leveon Bell or Keenan McCardell. His absence on the field while on the reserve list or whatever would be an omnipresent distraction, and that would be aggravated when they are almost certainly no good under John Q QB. I don’t see how they’re in any position to win the locker room over in a stand-off. Unlike some other guys who have held out, there seems to be significant sympathy for Watson’s position among teammates and no sympathy (perhaps even outright hostility) for the organization. Watson should call their bluff.They have some leverage. The question is, do they really want to exercise that leverage with a player who has been so open about wanting out ... especially a player that by position needs to be the team leader?
Given the current level of talent on the Texans roster, having Watson sit out an entire season while they rebuild before returning to play in Houston would not be the worst thing in the worldIf Houston can't get full value for Watson in a trade, I could easily see them rolling the dice and hoping that the new coach and GM will improve the culture enough to get Watson back on board.
Didn’t he get something crazy like $6M / year from Houston? That’s a ton of life-altering money, especially in a state with no income tax. I think you’re right that this is not likely to work out but I think you always have to strike while the iron is hot in this business. You can turn into yesterday’s news in a flash.Not going to lie, there is at least a small part of me that is surprised Caserio didn’t bail on the job. Makes me kind of wonder about Caserio to be honest. Yes, he is now set for life with his six year deal. And maybe that’s enough for him. But it’s hard to see this working out, and if he fails to build a contender, I doubt he’ll ever get another chance, as all of his prior success will be attributed to BB / TB12.
Definitely life-altering money. Pioli did have some success in KC though - they went to the playoffs at least once. I don’t see Houston as a playoff team any time soon.Didn’t he get something crazy like $6M / year from Houston? That’s a ton of life-altering money, especially in a state with no income tax. I think you’re right that this is not likely to work out but I think you always have to strike while the iron is hot in this business. You can turn into yesterday’s news in a flash.
He may never get to run the show again but he’ll have plenty of opportunities for jobs even if Houston doesn’t work out. I probably see this working out like Pioli where he became GM of the Chiefs and then was assistant GM of the Falcons.
Yup. Pretty low stakes for several years now. He also gets clean slate after Watson is dealt, a real chance to cement his post-BB legacy.One thing that could - maybe, possibly, who knows - work in Caserio's favor is that he won't be blamed for the shit-show he's now overseeing. If people in the NFL see - rightly, in my view - that he took a job with as good a QB situation as can reasonably be imagined, and that then, through no fault of his own, it all went sideways, there's something awful but also LIBERATING about that. He has a built-in excuse for its taking a bit longer to reconstruct what is now obviously a total shit-show clown-house. He's a steady hand on the tiller of a boat whose owner is ultimately responsible for the tire fire smoldering in Houston. Just needs to put his head down, cash the paycheck, enjoy the giant house and do his best.
I'd offer Houston a mid-round pick for him provided he'd agree to an 1 or 2 year extension to lower the $17.5 million number he's on now. He's still a top 10 player at his position.
Yes, I think a fair number of teams are probably in a similar frame of mind, although it does seem that there could actually be a fit in key ways. The Pats do have probably the two biggest key requirements: 1) cap space and 2) a desperate need in the front 7.I'd offer Houston a mid-round pick for him provided he'd agree to an 1 or 2 year extension to lower the $17.5 million number he's on now. He's still a top 10 player at his position.
As you mentioned in the QB thread, the Bears are in salary cap distress (Khalil Mack ain't cheap) so I don't think this is especially likely.JJ’s wife features for the Chicago Red Stars, which has given Bears fans hope that he’d take a sweetheart deal to move there.
I'm no Las Vegan, but the odds of Watson sitting a year out and then coming back to play for this same TX organization afterward seem phenomenally low.Given the current level of talent on the Texans roster, having Watson sit out an entire season while they rebuild before returning to play in Houston would not be the worst thing in the world
Hell, he wasn't anywhere close to the 2018 version that was an All-Pro with 16 sacks and 7 forced fumbles. He absolutely only makes sense for a team that has super bowl aspirations next year, he's not lifting any team from mediocrity to contention.Not sure what to think of Watt. He managed to stay healthy all of last season, which is good, but he really wasn't close to the DPOY Watt that terrorized the league in the early-2010s. He still has a knack for making big plays, but he's very much on the downside of his career.
He is by all accounts, a great teammate and a fun Twitter follow.
He's a damn hero in that city because of all of the work he did fundraising for Houston during Harvey.Not sure what to think of Watt. He managed to stay healthy all of last season, which is good, but he really wasn't close to the DPOY Watt that terrorized the league in the early-2010s. He still has a knack for making big plays, but he's very much on the downside of his career.
He is by all accounts, a great teammate and a fun Twitter follow.
Yeah, he’s basically Houston’s Big Papi. Caserio will have a real tough situation on his hand if JJ wants to stay but football ops wants to spend his money elsewhere, especially after the impending Watson debacle.He's a damn hero in that city because of all of the work he did fundraising for Houston during Harvey.
Hence the "sweetheart" deal - Watt would have to take a sizable pay cut and probably some creative contract structuring + incentives in order to live in the same city as his wife. Possible, but not likely.As you mentioned in the QB thread, the Bears are in salary cap distress (Khalil Mack ain't cheap) so I don't think this is especially likely.
https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/patriots/nfl-rumors-texans-asking-price-deshaun-watson-trade-revealedThe Rams-Lions trade will have nothing to do with a Watson trade if the Texans do it. They'll want 2 ones, 2 twos and 2 young defensive starters, at the least. Watson, 25, under contract, great QB, team leader, beloved by fans, pillar of the community. Start with the Jets.
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) January 31, 2021
I'd take these kind of reports with a massive grain of salt. What the Texans "want" is more or less irrelevant - they'll either (a) convince Watson to keep playing for them or (b) he'll make very clear he has zero intention of doing so no matter what they do to try to placate him, in which case they will trade him for the best deal they can get. I find it exceedingly unlikely that Watson tells Houston he'll play with them but the Texans trade him anyway - that just makes no sense and doesn't gibe with what Caserio has said to date, although I understand that is obviously a lot of posturing.NFL Trade rumors from McClain of the Houston Chronicle:
https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/patriots/nfl-rumors-texans-asking-price-deshaun-watson-trade-revealed
Good question. Maybe they've already talked to Houston and Houston has said they're not interested in Carr? But it would seem easier to do this (if you're Vegas) rather than try to bring in a third organization. Simpler is usually better.After reading the article, why wouldn't the Raiders just offer Carr, two first-round picks and something else for Watson? Seems like they're thinking three-way trade only