Good news: Deshaun Watson met with new coach David Culley.
Bad news: Watson told Culley he still wants to be traded and has no plans to play for the Houston Texans ever again.
So reports ESPN’s Dan Graziano, who detailed in a tweet that the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback met with the fourth full-time coach in team history last Friday. In the meeting, Watson underscored that he has no intention to play for the Texans organization and he wants out.
The situation is counter to what Culley may have hoped for. During his introductory press conference on Jan. 29, Culley said the only thing he knew about Watson’s situation was that he was still under contract with the team.
“He’s the quarterback of the Houston Texans,” said Culley. “That’s all that I was concerned about, and that’s all I knew. And whatever has been said about what was, what he wanted to do or he didn’t want to do, all I knew is this, having been in this business this long, he is a Houston Texan and I want him to be a Houston Texan. And the reason I’m in this position today is because I knew he’s going to be a Houston Texan.”
General manager Nick Caserio even said that the team had “zero interest” in trading Watson. However, the former 2017 first-round pick from Clemson still has interest in getting as far away from the Texans as he can.
The Texans will have to find a way to broker peace with Watson, or find a trade partner willing to take the franchise quarterback and receive fair compensation in return. If the Texans choose to keep Watson under contract, the situation could enter holdout territory with the field general missing out on offseason workouts, mandatory minicamp, training camp, and a lot more.
