Texans and Deshaun Watson dig their heels in over trade demand

UPDATE: DeShaun Watson met with new head coach David Culley and reiterated that he wants to be traded and will not play for the Texans again, per ESPN’s Dan Graziano.

We haven’t heard much new information coming out of the Houston or DeShaun Watson camps regarding their trade standoff. But, we did get an reiteration from the Texans that they have not engaged in any trade offers for Watson and don’t plan to, per ESPN’s Dianna Russini.

Cal McNair and the Texans are digging their heels in here, but it is still early. In the end, the question could be, does Houston play the 2021 season with Watson sitting out or get a big haul for him in a trade? We can talk about contracts and fines all we like, but as long as Watson is willing to give up the cash, the Texans can’t make him play.

It’s going to be a long summer, as neither side looks close to caving, but in the end, Watson holds the cards. He can hurt the Texans more than they can hurt him.