I doubt there will be opt outs due to covid, but interesting situation for Watson of covid continues. Watson being able to avoid fines, etc The Texans are not the only ones who can play hardball, it seems. And if CEO Cal McNair and Co. continue to defy quarterback Deshaun Watson’s request for a trade, it might end up blowing up in their collective faces, making the organization look more dysfunctional than it already does. The NFL has yet to rule whether players will be allowed to opt out of the 2021 season. The topic came up at the NFLPA’s Zoom meeting Thursday and sources in the meeting say the league still has not determined if players will have the opt-out option for the 2021 season. Already, multiple NFL events have been cancelled or held via Zoom-type meetings, including cancellation of the NFL Combine. While Covid-19 vaccinations continue at a less-than brisk pace compared to expectations, the league continues to push for full stadiums in 2021. The Center For Disease Control, however, has yet to offer a recommendation and the NFL’s chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, said only, “I sure hope so” when asked recently about full stadiums in 2021. If the NFL does not allow full attendance, it’s highly likely opt-outs again will be allowed. Neither is it expected the NFL will make a determination on attendance before the April 29 NFL Draft, which at best could allow only limited numbers of in-person fans. If the Texans do not trade Watson before the draft, the best they can hope for in a trade after the draft are 2022 picks and perhaps current players. In Thursday’s NFLPA meeting, eliminating 2021 Organized Team Activities and again abbreviating training camp and the preseason also were discussed. What this means for Watson and his agent David Mulugheta is they may have the Texans over a barrel. If the league allows opt-outs, Watson may well take the option and sit out the 2021 season. If he does, his contract “tolls” – in other words, it basically pauses and he would lose only minimal salary and bonuses. Last year, players who opted out received $150,000 of their salary, roster bonuses and workout bonuses, but lost their remaining 2020 salary. Once a player opted back in, the contract resumed basically uninterrupted. From a Texans perspective, it would be worst-case scenario. There would be no Watson, no trade – i.e., draft picks and/or players acquired – and the team still would have cap and roster issues in 2021. Watson, meanwhile, would not suffer the financial hit of significant fines and long-term lost salary of a holdout. And if Team Watson really wants to play hardball, they could perhaps even protest or legally challenge the NFL if an opt-out is not allowed. Considering the pace of vaccines and so many NFL events already being cancelled or adjusted, it probably would not be a battle the league would want to have. Cal McNair, Jack Easterby and general manager Nick Caserio are standing their ground on a very slippery slope. If you thought the Deshaun Watson saga could not get any uglier, think again. Both sides are dug-in. But Watson’s camp may have a magic bullet.
I’m curious as to what evidence there is to either of these claims. I’ve never paid for a Texans ticket but I think of all nfl fans as equally dumb and fair weather.
Im curious as to what evidence you expect anyone to have. There are no tangible metrics for what we are discussing. Its just perception
Mine is based off this: I dont know a single person who I would define as having above-average intelligence who is an actual die hard Texans fan. I know plenty of intelligent people who are fans of other NFL teams
Yeah I don’t either. Texans fans are also fans that don’t know a lot about football. They just like the Texans.
yeah, the idea of the article makes sense though if players can still opt out. I don’t think they will be allowed this year though
I think that was the daily high, not the average. The White House release on Thursday reported an average of 1.5M/day. It’s still a weird concern given how far away the season is, although in states like mine there’s no sign of the local governments relaxing crowd restrictions anytime soon.
I didn’t say it was the average. It was the number we were at the day I posted. And the 1.5M 7 day average isn’t close to accurate today. Who, outside of the far right, genuinely believes that the current vaccine distribution is less than expected? Nearly double the amount we were averaging when Biden took office just ~5 weeks ago.
You said “we are at 2.4M shots per day.” Whether you meant it or not, “per day” denotes an average. Like I said, I agree it was a strange critique given how far off the games are and how many vaccines will be given out in the interim. I think the overall point—will local governments allow games at full capacity—is still a live issue.
Sigh. 2.4M is an accurate amount not only today but as an average for the past 3 days. I’d rather use up to the date numbers than old numbers which include an outlier.
2.4M was an all-time high that happened on Friday. The White House number of 1.5M/day was released on Thursday. Undoubtedly the new high pulled the average up, although I doubt it held steady at that rate over the weekend. Again though, I think the more relevant issue the story raises isn’t the normative descriptor the writer used to characterize the vaccine rollout, but whether or not stadiums will be at full capacity in the fall and what if any impact that will have on opt-outs.
I mean, you can check the numbers for yourself instead of relying on 4 day old data for some reason. https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/covid-vaccine-tracker-global-distribution/
I don’t give a shit what the number is either way (other than wanting it to be as high as possible generally).
As you say that he responds in the Covid thread with a “well actually...” and again what a weird hill to die on
No offense to David Culley, but I'm pretty sure I have roughly the same amount of say in whether the Texans trade Watson as he does.
The Texans feeding Culley to the media when he has nothing to do with this is cruel and unnecessary. What's he supposed to say?
Of course they want Watson. But he's made it clear that he won't play for them. Their only choice at this point is to play the "we want guys who want to be here card". It's literally the only play they have to try and save face with the fanbase.
At this point I'm waiting for the out of the blue bombshell that a deal is done. All it takes is like 3 phone calls/texts to MIA and NYJ and picking the best offer between them. This isn't going to be some elaborate deal if/when it happens that needs to be negotiated for weeks. Watson already has a contract and doesn't need an extension. HOU probably isn't taking back much money in any deal unless it's with Carolina.
Jack Easterby gets his dream job and has to go into hiding. Can’t be seen in the city outside of his home and the Texans offices lmao