Texans’ Trade Of Brock Osweiler Praised As One Of Best Moves Of The NFL Offseason

A little more than two months ago, your Houston Texans shocked the world when they traded Brock Osweiler a year to the day after they signed him as a free agent. At the time, the prevailing thought was that the Texans had swallowed hard, admitted their mistake, and were going all in on acquiring Tony Romo. Romo, of course, didn’t cooperate, opting for the booth instead of the playing field.

That left the Texans with a quarterback room of Tom Savage and Brandon Weeden...until they traded up in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft and selected Deshaun Watson. Although Savage enters training camp as the starter, many believe it’s just a matter of time—and that it won’t be long—until Watson becomes Houston’s QB1.

Now that things have shaken out a bit, it’s fair to wonder whether the initial reaction to the Osweiler trade has changed. After all, some pundits stated that their view of the trade depended greatly or entirely upon whether the Texans signed Romo.

At least as it pertains to select NFL types that spoke with ESPN’s Field Yates, the Texans’ decision to jettison Osweiler is still considered one of the best moves of the offseason. Yates writes:

Houston's getting out of the Brock Osweiler contract

In a move that shocked many across the league, the Houston Texans traded Osweiler, a 2018 second-round pick and a 2017 sixth-round pick to the Cleveland Browns for a 2017 fourth-round pick, offloading Osweiler's $16 million salary in the process. That earned high marks for the Texans from one defensive coach.

"A lot of teams wouldn't have admitted it was an obvious mistake to sign him and would keep banging their heads against the wall, trying see if he finally gets it," the coach said. "[The Texans] have a championship-level defense, and if they can get any type of offensive production, they can compete in the AFC. The guy was a terrible QB ... he wasn't only not winning -- he was losing them games."

Osweiler's $16 million is fully guaranteed in 2017. Rather than standing pat with him on the roster a year after they signed him in free agency, the Texans made it clear that they are pivoting at the quarterback position. Houston, whose defense allowed fewer yards than any other in 2016, now gets a chance to start fresh, with either Tom Savage or first-round pick Deshaun Watson.

From the Browns' perspective, the second-round pick they received in the deal is valuable, and they had enough cap space to add Osweiler's salary this year. If Cleveland doesn't buy out Osweiler's contract, it could keep him on the roster this season and move on in 2018.

With Tony Romo retired and Deshaun Watson on the roster, do you feel any differently about the Osweiler trade now than you did back in March?