The NFL operates differently because of a few major factors. One playing in here was that Watt is a large cap hit, a major cap hit, so any team taking him would have to have the cap to take him and the NFL has a hard cap. This limits his options right out of the gate. Let's also remember that the teams wanting Watt are contending teams. Steelers, Packers, Ravens, etc...they aren't giving up anything for him. They don't NEED him. They'll have a team friendly deal in place to sign him off FA but they don't NEED him. Better to wait for him to hit FA and get him on a team friendly deal.
Mental gymnastics my dude because the Texans didn't want him. Keep ignoring this fact. You are ignoring that the Texans wanted out of his contract and wanted to move on from him. Sure you do. You don't seem to understand how the cap works and that it wasn't going to be anything major. This is according to all accounts. You are probably one of those hypocrites that whines that the Texans mistreat their players and when they finally do a solid for him instead of sending him over to the Jets for a 6th round pick you then call them stupid for doing so. LOL I'm spinning it? I'm just reacting to the REPORTS that said it was a MUTUAL AGREEMENT. BOTH WATT AND CAL SAID IT WAS A MUTUAL AGREEMENT? Who do I believe? Both parties of the agreement or a loyal member of the Church of Harden whose trying to spin this just to make Harden look better? I mean really, you guys would come after Hakeem if he threw shade at Harden. I can't stand hypocrites either, especially people that act like the situations are the same when they're really not.
Watt quit man but he's not alone. Team President Jamey Rootes quit, Deshaun has quit on the Texans. They might as well call the Texans the Houston Easterbys because if you don't fall in line you're done. The "mutual agreement" saves JJ Watt the trouble (& the Texans the PR hit ) of Watt asking for trade or release publicly. But make no mistake about it, JJ Watt quit and waved the white flag on the Texans and I don't blame him one bit. He deserves better and a shot at a ring. GOOD FOR JJ!
Texans could have paid half of JJs salary (like Clowney) and shipped him to a team of his choice AND returned something of value for the Texans. JJ quit on the team and the team was all to happy not to have to pay him. but Deshaun BETTER honor his deal - just because.
I think this idea is pretty powerful. That team wasn't perfect, but it was a helluva lot better than last year's team. If Cal would have fired OB, hired a GM and a new coach that would likely have been his saving grace. Instead he made OB the GM, which started Rome burning. That one very poor decision has led to the mess we have before us. However, he had an opportunity to correct his course with the GM and Coaching hires, but apparently Corn Ferry's work was inferior to Easterbunny's recommendation. I've been in a business that the CEO made a series of bad decisions because he listened to the wrong people in his organization. I gave that company 7+ years of my life because I believed in the technology, our mission and was a plank owner in the start-up. Last year in the midst of a global pandemic as the ship was sinking, another company bought the tech and then hired most of the employees. I was fortunate enough to be one of them and my situation now is substantially better than before. I share this experience because I appreciate the player's perspective. Yes, I was making good money, but the stress was high and enjoyment low. I could have left, but my equity stake had the potential to change my family's life and I believed in the mission. My equity ended up being worthless and at 60 I invested some of my best years into Fool's Gold. If you can leave the situation, then you should leave (the lesson I learned). I hope JJ finds a championship team to join--GB would be the a great story. Unlike any QB we've had, DW always made me feel confident he could make a play or safe the day. He's special and will likely be doing that for some other team next year. The team VC mentioned in his post is now a distant memory. We have to move on and start the rebuild, we can't blow the Watson trade, it has to be history making and we have to use the picks wisely. Churchill said, "When you're going through hell, keep going". After being away from Houston sports for 34 years, I returned to what I thought could be a Golden Age for the City's teams, but instead is a nightmare. Now, I'm wondering if I should have stayed away. As another great man said, "Stay thirsty my friends." Maybe the Astros can give us something to cheer for this year.
It's STUNNING the way things have shifted since that moment in time when the Texans were up 24-0 on the Chiefs. I mean the avalanche of **** that has fallen on this franchise since then is unrivaled. It's just been one bad thing after another, with almost nothing good happening in between. I've honestly never seen anything like what has happened to Houston sports over the last couple of years.
That's still no difference they both wanted to leave teams while still under contract. Did both not say they wanted to be elsewhere and talked to management?
Yes and no. I understand Harden wanting to move on, but if the stories are true the organization did everything he wanted and it still wasn't enough. Then how he treated his new coach and teammates wasn't the right way to go about it. Hell, he could have just held out versus what he did. As for Deshaun, I don't want him to go, but once a man makes up his mind its likely over. I think the GM's job now is to find a win-win (or as near as possible). I also believe DW should talk to Caserio and Culley. He can still reiterate his trade demand, but not at least talking to your employer who is paying your salary seems unreasonable. He could do what JJ did and take his request to the owners. So in sum, I understand both of their desires to leave, I just believe Harden treated his team the wrong way and Deshaun needs to at least meet the new management so this thing can get settled.
The core of the issue is different though because the Texans wanted to move on. This means the situation was just handled differently. Since the feeling was mutual it's a lot easier for both sides to move on. This, along with the contractual differences in the NFL means the Watt situation is A LOT different from the Harden one.
[Cabot] J.J. Watt is seriously considering the Browns as one of his options because they have what he wants, sources say
