J.J. Watt Trade Rumors: NFL Insiders Expect Texans to Deal DE in 2021 Offseason

The Houston Texans did not pull the trigger on a J.J. Watt trade ahead of Tuesday's deadline, but the best player in franchise history's departure is seen as inevitable.

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports spoke to several executives around the NFL who said Watt will almost certainly be on the move this offseason.

"He'll be traded by March—bank on it," one general manager said. "That's a hard trade to make in the middle of the season, and there are going to be questions about the medicals. Jack [acting GM Jack Easterby] can't make that trade in November. And the owner probably wasn't quite ready to make it, but it's coming."

Watt is in his 10tth season with the Texans and has one year remaining on his contract at $17.5 million. While he remains an excellent player when he's on the field, injuries have derailed what was shaping up to be one of the greatest careers for a defensive player in NFL history. He has played in all seven of the Texans' games in 2020 but missed 32 games to injury over the previous four seasons.

With the injuries adding up and the Texans likely years away from competing again, the writing is on the wall. Watt had an increasingly contentious relationship with Bill O'Brien before his departure, and La Canfora's report said it's been known that he is looking for a change of scenery—hopefully to a Super Bowl contender.

"It's a wrap," one source told La Canfora. "He knows he only has so many games left, and he is ready to go and try to win. The guys in that locker room are bracing for it."

The Texans do not have first- or second-round picks in 2021 after O'Brien stripped the cupboards bare in ill-fated trades, so getting draft value for Watt will be a must in turning the franchise around.