After weeks and weeks of visible unhappiness and frustration with the Houston Texans, star quarterback Deshaun Watson has made his stance official. No more beating around the bush: he wants out.
According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Watson's request was made on Thursday morning.
Rapoport added that the team has known Watson's desire to be traded "for a few weeks."
It's not as if this is earth-shattering news at this point. Whoever became the head coach — the Texans ultimately went with David Culley — wasn't expected to change Watson's mentality of seeking solace elsewhere. There has been buzz surrounding several potential suitors, including the Jets, Dolphins, Bears, Cowboys and more, none of which would have been occurring at such a high level if not for the impending likelihood of his trade request. And we also shouldn't have been too hopeful that a player whose anger level was at a "10" would find some way to stick around.
Watson, the Texans' first-round draft pick in 2017, will likely finish his career in Houston with a 28-25 regular season record, 14,539 passing yards, 104 passing touchdowns, 36 interceptions, 1,677 rushing yards and 17 rushing touchdowns across 53 starts.
Now the questions are these: where will he want to land, what will the Texans be able to get in return from said teams, and what combination of those two factors ultimately determines where he ends up? Rapoport explains the order of operations in this situation.