Deshaun Watson officially requests trade from Houston

[BillsVet]

5 hours ago, The Frankish Reich said:

I find this Watson thing fascinating. We really haven't seen this in the NFL before: elite QB demanding a trade, implying that he'd sit out rather than continue playing for his current team. It's not a money/restructure my contract thing; it's a "I don't want to play for this stinking franchise anymore" thing.

It's commonplace in the NBA, and it works (see most recently Harden, James). If it works for Watson it will set a precedent.

 

Maybe he's taking a cue from Harden.

 

David Culley is an uninspired hiring, but the idea Watson wanted input in the GM hire is absurd.  Yes, he's the franchise QB, but getting to contribute to that decision, well, is a bridge too far even in NFL circles.  

 

Bill O'Brien trading Hopkins out from underneath him combined with the 2020 season is him wanting a fresh start.  But there's almost no compensation a team will offer to make that trade worth it unless Watson really digs in his heals and makes this an off-season drama fest.

[mannc]

56 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

Wandered across this piece from a Phins fan site and thought the perspective was interesting.

https://phinphanatic.com/2021/01/29/deshaun-watson-force-way-off-miami-dolphins/

 

Fundamentally, their take is:

-Houston has been in the playoffs 3 of the last 4 years (not quite correct, 2 of the last 3 or 4 of the last 6)

-Watson just inked a huge new contract

-Things happen and we saw Houston go into a tailspin last year

-"What happens if the Dolphins throw all their draft capital to the Texans for Watson and regress? Will he want out of Miami then too?"

 

Seems like a reasonable question for fans of a team trading for Watson to ask.  If the guy is gonna ink a big contract in Houston and then pitch a snit and say he's done with the team and demand a trade 5 months later from the Texans, what would stop him from doing the same thing to his new team if a year or two go by and it's not all peaches and playoffs?

 

Carson Palmer asked to be traded and retired rather than play for Cincy after 7 or 8 seasons.  The Raiders ruined themselves with draft picks and salary to trade for him and didn't get much for it under the circumstances, only to flip him to Zona 2 years later for a fraction of what they gave up. 

 

Giving up a lot for a dissatisfied starter from another team doesn't always work too well for the buyer.

 

Seems highly unlikely that team would regress with Watson, no matter how much draft capital they gave up.  They have two firsts and two seconds this year and a full draft next year, and of course they are already a borderline playoff team.  I don’t know how they regress by adding a top 4 quarterback to the mix.  In fact, they would be downright scary. Every Bills fan should hope this doesn’t happen.

Edited January 30, 2021 by mannc

[Hapless Bills Fan]

31 minutes ago, mannc said:

Seems highly unlikely that team would regress with Watson, no matter how much draft capital they gave up.  They have two firsts and two seconds this year and a full draft next year, and of course they are already a borderline playoff team.  I don’t know how they regress by adding a top 4 quarterback to the mix.  In fact, they would be downright scary. Every Bills fan should hope this doesn’t happen.

 

I mean, it all depends upon a lot of factors besides the QB, right?  Who will they bring in at OC, and will he really be as good or better an OC as Chan Gailey?  What will they do with those draft picks?  For that matter, what kind of system will the new OC run and would it suit Watson as well as what he was running in Houston?

 

The Dolphins went 10-6 and lost a WC game in 2016 and everyone was picking them as the new hot team in the AFC East. Next.

 

I'll grant you their D and ST looked more legit this past year, but the Bills carved them up in Week 17 and DCs will be watching that film.  So it's far from a sure bet, just as it's not a sure bet that the Bills will repeat this year's success next season (much though I want to believe it's the start of a run)

[Doc]

My son told me yesterday that our good buddy Nick Wrong said that the Bills should look to trade for Watson. 

[bills6969]

 

this guy is a total ass-clown.   I’d give a slight edge to Allen because he 1) is younger and has more upside,  2) has a better arm.  The only valid argument for trading Allen for Watson is that Watson already has signed his big contract (32m aav),  and will probably be cheaper than Allen’s. Needless to say these guys are in the same class, so it would not be a “no-brainer” as this doofus suggests.  He’s just trying to drive his personal agenda of hate against Josh Allen I guess.

[Buffalo_Stampede]

8 minutes ago, bills6969 said:

 

this guy is a total ass-clown.   I’d give a slight edge to Allen because he 1) is younger and has more upside,  2) has a better arm.  The only valid argument for trading Allen for Watson is that Watson already has signed his big contract (32m aav),  and will probably be cheaper than Allen’s. Needless to say these guys are in the same class, so it would not be a “no-brainer” as this doofus suggests.  He’s just trying to drive his personal agenda of hate against Josh Allen I guess.

We have to take it for now. His whole argument was Josh Allen is no where close to Mahomes. He was right. Just have to take until next year. 

[Doc]

Just now, Buffalo_Stampede said:

We have to take it for now. His whole argument was Josh Allen is no where close to Mahomes. He was right. Just have to take until next year. 

 

Huh?  No the argument is Watson is better than Josh, not Mahomes.

[Buffalo_Stampede]

1 minute ago, Doc said:

 

Huh?  No the argument is Watson is better than Josh, not Mahomes.

He's just rubbing it in. 

[Doc]

8 minutes ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

He's just rubbing it in. 

 

Rubbing what in?  Watson guided his team to 4-12.  Josh took his to the AFCCG.

[UKBillFan]

40 minutes ago, bills6969 said:

 

this guy is a total ass-clown.   I’d give a slight edge to Allen because he 1) is younger and has more upside,  2) has a better arm.  The only valid argument for trading Allen for Watson is that Watson already has signed his big contract (32m aav),  and will probably be cheaper than Allen’s. Needless to say these guys are in the same class, so it would not be a “no-brainer” as this doofus suggests.  He’s just trying to drive his personal agenda of hate against Josh Allen I guess.

Listening to the clip itself he basically says Watson is the fourth best QB in the league after Mahomes, Wilson and Rodgers and anyone else would trade. He gives a long reason why the Chargers would forgo Herbert. But then the Twitter posts highlight the Allen comparison - because they know it will get clicks and reactions.

[SCBills]

11 hours ago, mannc said:

Seems highly unlikely that team would regress with Watson, no matter how much draft capital they gave up.  They have two firsts and two seconds this year and a full draft next year, and of course they are already a borderline playoff team.  I don’t know how they regress by adding a top 4 quarterback to the mix.  In fact, they would be downright scary. Every Bills fan should hope this doesn’t happen.

They played well above their level this year (imo).   They were not as good as their record.   I could absolutely see a regression.  

[CincyBillsFan]

11 hours ago, mannc said:

Seems highly unlikely that team would regress with Watson, no matter how much draft capital they gave up.  They have two firsts and two seconds this year and a full draft next year, and of course they are already a borderline playoff team.  I don’t know how they regress by adding a top 4 quarterback to the mix.  In fact, they would be downright scary. Every Bills fan should hope this doesn’t happen.

 

I can see Miami regressing with Watson at QB.

 

First, to get Watson they'll have to give up most if not all of their first & second round picks this year.

 

Second, the Dolphins won a lot of games because the ball bounced right for them. If they get only half the TO's next year they got this year they'll be hard pressed to win 10 games with Watson at QB.

 

IMO there was nothing scary about that Miami team the Bills beat 56 - 28 in the last game. The Dolphins win that game and they're in the playoffs.  The Bills sat a number of key players for the game and sat the rest in the 2nd half. What that game showed was that Miami is not as close as people think.  They have a lot of work to do on that roster.  The type of work that benefits from having a QB on a rookie contract.

 

 

 

 

[SCBills]

48 minutes ago, bills6969 said:

 

this guy is a total ass-clown.   I’d give a slight edge to Allen because he 1) is younger and has more upside,  2) has a better arm.  The only valid argument for trading Allen for Watson is that Watson already has signed his big contract (32m aav),  and will probably be cheaper than Allen’s. Needless to say these guys are in the same class, so it would not be a “no-brainer” as this doofus suggests.  He’s just trying to drive his personal agenda of hate against Josh Allen I guess.

Watson might be a safer bet.. He’s played at a high level for multiple years, but Nick Wright is trolling.  No GM is trading Allen straight up for Watson, let alone his prickish assertion of adding picks.  Allen has a much higher ceiling (higher than anyone in the league).  If Allen plays well again next year, not even clowns like Wright or Skip can make these arguments anymore.  

[UKBillFan]

5 minutes ago, SCBills said:

Watson might be a safer bet.. He’s played at a high level for multiple years, but Nick Wright is trolling.  No GM is trading Allen straight up for Watson, let alone his prickish assertion of adding picks.  Allen has a much higher ceiling (higher than anyone in the league).  If Allen plays well again next year, not even clowns like Wright or Skip can make these arguments anymore.  

Josh has got a higher ceiling that Watson but perhaps a lower floor.

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

11 hours ago, mannc said:

Seems highly unlikely that team would regress with Watson, no matter how much draft capital they gave up.  They have two firsts and two seconds this year and a full draft next year, and of course they are already a borderline playoff team.  I don’t know how they regress by adding a top 4 quarterback to the mix.  In fact, they would be downright scary. Every Bills fan should hope this doesn’t happen.

 

On the plus side our D-line can count on getting a lot more sacks if Watson goes to Miami. Would be a good year to put in incentives for going over 8 or 10 sacks if Watson is traded to the AFC East. You'd have a sack prone Watson and probably a couple rookie QB's in the division.

[Buffalo_Stampede]

44 minutes ago, Doc said:

 

Rubbing what in?  Watson guided his team to 4-12.  Josh took his to the AFCCG.

It's called trolling. He's trolling Bills fans. You're taking the bait. 

Edited January 30, 2021 by Buffalo_Stampede

[Doc]

2 minutes ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

It's called trolling. He's trolling Bills fans. You're taking the bait. 

I’m not taking any bait. I’m not following him or watching him. I’m just reacting to his stupidity. 

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

27 minutes ago, UKBillFan said:

Listening to the clip itself he basically says Watson is the fourth best QB in the league after Mahomes, Wilson and Rodgers and anyone else would trade. He gives a long reason why the Chargers would forgo Herbert. But then the Twitter posts highlight the Allen comparison - because they know it will get clicks and reactions.

 

I think Watson is solidly in the top 5. As is Allen. The order in which you put these guys is kind of meaningless. I do think it is clear though, Allen very well could have the highest ceiling of them all. Only Mahomes ceiling might be higher. Watson is a good player but he is not without his own faults. Guy takes a ton of sacks and always has. Every single year of his career. I'm sure it is a big reason why his 12th ranked QBR is much lower than his 2nd ranked 112 passer rating.

 

Only year Allen had a sack percentage over 8% was his rookie year. Then down to 7% his second year and cut in half to 4% this last year. Watson has been over 8% all four years he has played and that includes one year over 10%.

[smuvtalker]

On 1/28/2021 at 9:11 AM, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I can not disagree with this assessment.

 

You have to hand it to John Harbaugh for doing a hell of a sales pitch to get a job for a guy (his pass game coordinator) that a quality assessment of their passing game might have suggested they should move on from anyway.

 

I thought Miami played Houston for suckers in the Tunsil trade as did Arizona.

 

If Houston keeps this up by tamely acceding to Watson's trade requests IMO it will be proof their ownership hasn't learned anything.

This 100%.

 

Count me in the minority, and I haven't read all 23 pages of this thread so I don't know how in depth this has been discussed.  But I don't think the Texans should give in to his trade demands.  I'll admit I'm a bit old fashioned, but in my opinion, you play the damn contract you agreed to.  The guy signed a 4 year contract!  Are the Texans a dumpster fire?  Absolutely.  And yes, they got rid of his favorite WR(who I can understand why just a little bit better now), but where I come from you honor the contract YOU SIGNED.  I could see if he wasn't being paid a fair amount, and maybe was in the final year or something like that, but that's hardly the case here, he's being paid quite handsomely.  And his argument that he's ticked because he wasn't consulted about the team's decision on GM?? Uhh, excuse me, when did Deshaun become a part of executive management? And on top of that, did he expect that when he signed that 4 year contract that he was signing up for 4 years of unparalleled excellence, 13 win seasons, and perhaps two Lombardi trophies?  Teams have bad years...but you suck it up, you make the best of the situation, you work with what you have, and you try to make those around you better. You don't jump ship ESPECIALLY when you agreed to remain on that ship no matter what.

 

I think that if ownership gives in to his demands, they're only opening up a pandora's box for every other superstar athlete who's unhappy with his current situation.....

 

Just my two cents y'all.  That's it.

[NewEra]

1 hour ago, bills6969 said:

 

this guy is a total ass-clown.   I’d give a slight edge to Allen because he 1) is younger and has more upside,  2) has a better arm.  The only valid argument for trading Allen for Watson is that Watson already has signed his big contract (32m aav),  and will probably be cheaper than Allen’s. Needless to say these guys are in the same class, so it would not be a “no-brainer” as this doofus suggests.  He’s just trying to drive his personal agenda of hate against Josh Allen I guess.

No.  He’s just using Bills fans to drive his mentions, clicks and audience 

 

Really can’t believe bills fans continue to pay attention and link anything and everything he does.