Colts: The Texans’ tank job is really more pathetic than you thought
Everyone knew the Houston Texans’ 2021 season would be nothing short of a disaster, but did anyone think it’d be this bad? It’s not like Indianapolis Colts fans are complaining, but man, this is embarrassing.
Quarterback Deshaun Watson is on the roster but isn’t playing, which is even more preposterous than him starting the year on the commissioner’s exempt list. The team has 27 players heading into a contract year. They just traded their best cornerback in Bradley Roby to the New Orleans Saints.
It’s obvious this team is throwing away the upcoming campaign. You can’t really blame them given all that’s happened. But how can you have this terrible of a roster and not have a SINGLE rookie in your starting lineup?!
What did this team do in the draft?
The Texans have the worst roster in the NFL on paper yet they don't have a single rookie in their starting lineup
— Mike Renner (@PFF_Mike) September 8, 2021
That's almost difficult to do
The Texans will make life easy for the Colts in 2021 with how terrible they are.
Oh … that’s right. They had no top picks thanks to Bill O’Brien absolutely decimating this team’s roster and future. Though the new regime featuring Jack Easterby and Nick Caserio don’t exactly offer a comforting roadmap given their, by and large, lack of experience running an NFL franchise, there’s really no alternative thanks to the damage that’s been done.
That being said … not one of quarterback Davis Mills, wide receiver Nico Collins, tight end Brevin Jordan, linebacker Garret Wallow or defensive tackle Roy Lopez were able to win a starting job on this bottom-barrel roster, which features Tyrod Taylor at quarterback, Pharaoh Brown at tight end, and other unknowns in the linebacking corps and along the interior of the defensive line? We’ll admit, they have a solid receiving corps. Other than that, though …
I think we can now say confidently the #Texans tank is being done purposefully.
— Evan Silva (@evansilva) September 8, 2021
Expecting David Johnson to end up on another team’s roster at some point this season.https://t.co/lUk9V5SYTi
It’s either bad drafting (let’s face it, ONE of these mid-to-late-round picks could’ve easily snagged a job) or poor roster management. And whether the tank job is intentional or not, it appears to be worse than anyone could’ve imagined, especially after Roby was dealt just days before the season was set to kick off.
But in the end, they likely had to trade Roby to recoup draft capital that’s been lost over the last few years. Shedding his salary wasn’t a bad idea either, because then they’ll have plenty of cap space to work with in the offseason … but good luck trying to convince free agents to come to Houston after all that’s happened and how bare bones this roster is going to be.
The Colts and general manager Chris Ballard should just sit back, worry about their championship window, and know two direct competitors in their division (the Jaguars, too) probably won’t be threatening much of anything anytime soon. And the fact Houston’s situation is looking like it’ll take years to even get back to square one should help the entire front office sleep easier at night.
