HOUSTON — The situation between the Houston Texans and Deshaun Watson continues to get more bizarre by the day. Seven months after requesting a trade from the organization in January, the Texans named Watson as one of 53 men on the roster entering the 2021 NFL season on Tuesday.
Adding Watson’s name to the team roster could result in the Texans paying their disgruntled star $10.5 million in 2021 — even if he doesn’t play a single down for Houston. In addition to his trade request, Watson is still under investigation for sexual misconduct in 22 civil cases, which could be the reason why the 25-year-old quarterback remains in Houston.
“Each day we are going to make the decision we feel is best,” general manager Nick Caserio said during his media availability on Wednesday. “It’s a one-step process. We are going to take it one day at a time. I am not going to get into a lot of speculations about what has happened or what did not happen. There is no finite answer. No definitive answer at this point.”
Since the start of training camp, Caserio said Watson has been inside the building every day attending meetings with his teammates while maintaining a good attitude. Caserio said he had multiple conversations with Watson, but failed to answer whether or not he will play this season.
“I think any conversation we have with a player, we are going to keep that between ourselves,” he said. “He hasn’t been a disruption.”
With Watson likely out for the season, the Texans have two other quarterbacks on their roster in Tyrod Taylor and third-round rookie Davis Mills. Taylor will enter training camp as the presumed quarterback.
