No, I don't agree with you. First, I never said the Texans holds his rights forever, but they don't have to cave into his demands. Which to your Carson Palmer example, is what the Bengals did. But I do agree with the rest of the CP story. Deshaun can take that path too. The Texans will look even more like dumbasses, and I would like to think even Cal and friends know that would be a deathblow to their PR.
Second, I don't care about the guaranteed money (which honestly as you mentioned why would he give it back for the retirement route). That's not part of my point. He damn well signed it knowing who the owner is, who Jesus Jack is, who BOB was, and their handling of players like Duane Brown, Deandre Hopkins, etc. Andre Johnson who recently publicly tweeted at how shitty their org is, was the WR coach in 2019. You don't think Deshaun and him talked? Despite all that, he signed. If he hadn't, he would've been an UFA at some point and free to sign wherever he wanted.
You don't get to leave just b/c your feelers get hurt and/or on a bad team. That's essentially what this boils down to.
So yeah, tough noogies. You signed up for this.
Well like I said, already happened to me. Not leaving b/c this is the best job of my life.
Ultimately, he's a player. Just b/c he wasn't included doesn't mean the team was wrong. Bad optics, sure. But it sounds like to me he got his feelers hurt more than anything.
And again I'm not saying the Texans are noble in anyway. I'm just not feeling sorry for Deshaun, either.
I don't think anyone is feeling sorry for Watson.
If anyone thinks contracts are ironclad... they aren't. They're broken, renegotiated, obviated, torn up, extended, amended, etc all the time.
It's not about feelings. It's about player agency and respect. The old ways of doing things are dead and I realize some don't like it. I love it, but I get that not everyone does. Most NFL owners are completely clueless and are constantly surprised which is belligerently stupid on an amazing scale.
I dunno about you, but I don't sit down in a Kroenke jersey to watch his white, old, wrinkley ass battle Robert Kraft's white, old, wrinkley ass. I watch football for the PLAYERS.
NO ONE gives a fuck about the owners. No one roots for the owners. This game is not now and has never been about the owners. It's ALWAYS been about the game.
Problem is that the owners think they ARE the game.
I'm so damned tired of that.
I'm also not a big fan of outright lying.
Part of Watson signing was that they went to him. The arguments seem to compartmentalize that, but they're inextricable.
If the Texans don't go to him and make those promises, do we know for certain that he still signs the extension? No we don't.
We know now that he's willing to sit out the season due to the lying to him so at the very least we can infer that those promises were part of his decision making process to sign.
At the end of the day, I just don't want him going to the 9ers. I hope he gets out because he's a solid young man and a legit superstar and no one deserves to have to deal with lying bosses and a shit work environment, be they a fast food worker or one of the best QBs in the NFL.
Jmho, your mileage may vary.
