The Houston Texans needed a clean break from Deshaun Watson.
Whether it was the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback’s trade request from January 2021 shortly after the hiring of general manager Nick Caserio, or his being named as a defendant in a lawsuit wherein 22 women allege he committed sexual assault, Watson had worn out his welcome in Houston.
Texans coach Lovie Smith sees the separation from Watson, finalized with a trade with the Cleveland Browns, as a fresh start for both sides.
“You know, sometimes divorce is good,” Smith told Cris Collinsworth on his eponymous podcast. “That’s my statement that I’ve made a lot of times when a split is going to happen. Both parties are going to win once it does. Again, I don’t know what all happened, the accusations are there. If they have merit, that will all come out in time, but for our football team, we needed to move on.”
The Texans unofficially moved on from Watson in the 2021 NFL draft when they selected former Stanford quarterback Davis Mills with the No. 67 overall pick in Round 3. Selecting Mills was also the first pick ever in the Caserio era, which was also another signal that the club was moving on from their former 2017 first-round pick.
Houston gathered quite the haul in dealing Watson to the Browns. The Texans have the Browns’ first-round pick through the 2024 NFL draft, which means even if Mills isn’t the solution under center, Caserio will have the capital to ultimately address the position.
