The Sharp Demise of the Houston Texans

Prior to the 2020 NFL season, the Houston Texans had made the playoffs four of the past five seasons under head coach and general manager Bill O’Brien and had seemingly found their franchise quarterback in young stud Deshaun Watson. They had arguably the best wide receiver in football, DeAndre Hopkins, along with their defensive mainstay J.J. Watt. In less than a year’s time, Hopkins is on the Arizona Cardinals, Watt has been released, and Watson is disgruntled enough with the franchise to publicly ask for a trade. The team finished 4-12 this past season and had a coaching change midway through. So, what happened? How can a team on the rise have taken the quickest nosedive into a downward spiral more than any sports franchise in recent memory?

Most fans will pinpoint the exact moment the Texans took a turn for the worst to when Bill O’Brien decided to trade DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals (along with a fourth-round pick) for running back David Johnson, a 2nd rounder, and a 4th rounder. Immediately a head-scratcher, the trade left fans marveling at how the league’s best receiver entering his prime could only yield a second-round pick and a player whose best and healthiest years were behind him. This trade was the first domino to fall in the disastrous year to come for the Houston franchise.

Trading away Hopkins had already set the team back before even playing a single game without him. All summer media had speculated as to how the Cardinals got away with highway robbery. But the show must go on so the team acquired free agent wideout Brandin, Cooks, a solid player in his own right, but nowhere near Hopkins’ caliber. After their 0-4 start to the 2020 campaign, the team fired Bill O’Brien, hoping to put the outcome of this trade behind them. However, it wasn’t enough to keep this ship from sinking. The team would finish 4-12 under interim head coach Romeo Crennel. Media and fans nationwide were sympathetic for how quickly Watson’s surrounding cast had plummeted and began speculation for him to continue his promising career elsewhere.

Watson would wait until the offseason before the seemingly inevitable of publicly asking for a trade. After having been fed up with his organization for months for multiple reasons outside of the Hopkins trade, he knew it was time for a change. As much as Bill O’Brien can be blamed for being the catalyst of these events, the front office shares just as much of the blame. With a vacant HC spot, Texans’ management failed to consult with Watson in regards to the new hire prospect after ensuring him they would do just that. In a struggling effort to keep the best quarterback your franchise has ever had; how can you not hold up promises you make to him? Houston brass should be ashamed of how far they let this team fall. They had chances to relieve the severity of the Hopkins trade, but all they have done is made it worse. Now Watson, still only 25 years old and a proven all pro, is on the trade market with many teams looking for new players leading their offenses.

The story doesn’t end there though, on February 12th, what many fans would consider the unthinkable happened. J.J. Watt, 10-year veteran of the team and Houston icon asked for and was granted his release from the team. Watt is only 31 and still has plenty of fuel left in the tank, but it is hard to imagine him completing his career with any team other than the Texans. A post-game video clip from this past season showed Watt apologizing to his QB for “wasting one of [his] years”. Players on the Texans are well-aware how deep the hole the franchise dug themselves into is.

Less than a year removed from trading away Hopkins, Houston has lost their most beloved player in the history of the team and will more than likely lose their franchise quarterback, with very little to show for it. No team in all of professional sports has plummeted so significantly, so quickly than this one. The toughest pill to swallow for Houston fans is the feeling that this could have all been avoided. If the Hopkins deal is never made, months of ridicule and mismanagement of the team and coaching staff is not received. Now the franchise is back to building this team from the ground up when the future had just looked promising not so long ago.

Written by: Kyle Coreth

February 13, 2021