Insider Calls Texans' Jack Easterby 'A F--king Idiot' Amid Deshaun Watson Rumors

Jack Easterby, a former Patriots team chaplain turned Texans executive vice president of football operations, appears to be winning what amounts to an organizational power struggle with quarterback Deshaun Watson.

Suffice it to say, not everyone in the organization is happy about it. 

"The guys I trust, including a guy big in Houston, he wants to kill [Easterby]," a league source told Matt Verdame of Fansided. "He goes 'this guy is a f--king idiot. He's got the owner's ear and he's going to ruin the whole organization.'"

Sarah Barshop of ESPN reported Thursday Watson has asked the Texans to trade him.

Watson's frustration with the Texans began last offseason when they traded wideout DeAndre Hopkins, and it reached a breaking point when his opinion on the team's general manager search was ignored. 

Houston hired Nick Caserio as its general manager, the Patriots' former director of player personnel who has a longtime relationship with Easterby.

The rise of Easterby to become seemingly the right-hand man of Texans owner Cal McNair remains surprising. He arrived in Houston with no history of involvement in football operations. Easterby joined the team in April 2019 after time spent as a chaplain and character coach for the Patriots. 

Jenny Vrentas and Greg Bishop of Sports Illustrated described Easterby as "an authority figure whose leadership style sows distrust and division, at times flouting rules and straining relationships inside the building," citing sources within the organization.

Watson's trade request borders on unprecedented in the NFL and is more akin to an NBA-style attempt to force his way out of Houston. While the Texans could theoretically hold on to Watson and force him to play for the organization, moving him may ultimately be in the best interest of the franchise given the massive hole they're in because of Bill O'Brien's personnel moves.

The Texans are without first- and second-round picks this April and are significantly over the salary cap. Trading Watson could provide the type of draft haul that helps the Texans organization reset while also putting an even bigger spotlight on Easterby and Caserio.