The Houston Texans were confident that they had found their quarterback for the future when they took Deshaun Watson with the 12th overall pick of the 2017 NFL draft. In fact, they even handed him a massive 4 year, $156 million contract extension just 4 months ago.
However, it now seems like their franchise quarterback is no longer sold with the team's project. The Texans reportedly didn't consult him or take his advice - or from other players - when it came to finding a new GM and coach, thus prompting his desire to leave.
Watson was already disgruntled after Bill O'Brien didn't even give him a heads up before trading superstar DeAndre Hopkins before the start of this season, and the fact that they didn't even try to interview Kansas City Chiefs' OC Eric Bieniemy was a turning point for him.
Houston Texans Want A Lot Of Draft Compensation For Deshaun Watson
So, now that Watson took to Twitter to express his frustration towards the organization and it's now out in the open that he wants to leave, Benjamin Allbright of KOA Colorado revealed the Texans' asking price for their franchise cornerstone:
"Three 1sts, three 2nds, and a player might start the conversation," Allbright said, meaning that Houston would demand at least 5 draft picks for their 25-year-old star. Needless to say, not many teams will be willing to meet their demands.
Watson Is Coming Off A Historical Season
Then again, the NFL is a quarterback's league now more than ever and Deshaun Watson is coming off one of the best seasons in league history. For starters, he was responsible for 88% of his team's offense, which is an NFL record.
Watson also led the league in passing yards with 4,823 as well in yards per attempt (8.9), while being second in completion percentage at a whopping 70.2%. He threw for 33 touchdowns with just 7 interceptions, adding 444 rushing yards and 3 rushing touchdowns.
The Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars, Denver Broncos, San Francisco 49ers, New England Patriots, and New York Jets will reportedly all try to get better at the quarterback position, but whether any of them will be willing to give away that much draft capital is yet to be seen.
