On Thursday, the Houston Texans made a trade that is normally seen in the NBA, when a team does a trade specifically to rid themselves of a certain players salary. Brock Osweiler, who was set to make $16 million in 2017, was traded to Cleveland along with a 2018 second round pick and a 2017 sixth round pick. In return, the Texans received a 2017 fourth round pick. This trade from the Texans perspective was solely done in the interest of shedding the huge contract for the biggest free agent bust in team history, and possibly the biggest failed free agent signing in NFL history.
Osweiler finished the 2016 season with 16 touchdowns and 17 interceptions, and was benched at the end of the season in favor of Tom Savage. Brock did get his starting job back in the playoffs after Savage suffered an injury. He was terrible however in those last two games, particularly the game in New England, when he missed on various throws and chose to check down on various occasions as opposed to taking a few shots downfield.
What this means:
Cleveland
The Browns have been on a mission in the past few years to acquire as many picks as humanly possible. Since they had near $100 million in salary cap space, they could afford to take on the salary of Osweiler without having any repercussions on their 2017 season. Osweiler could very well be the starter for the Cleveland, who released Robert Griffin III on Friday and now only have Cody Kessler as an experienced QB on their roster. As time goes on, we will see if the stockpiling of draft picks will work out for the Browns, but in this case since the owner didn’t mind essentially paying $16 million for a 2nd round pick without giving up anything of value, this trade was a win.
Texans
The Texans admitted failure by essentially bribing the Browns to take on the entirety of Brock’s contract for 2017. As a result, the team now has $10 million to spend on any player their heart desires. Rumor has it that Houston, and Denver as well, are all in on the Tony Romo sweepstakes whether it’s via trade or as a free agent. Romo, when healthy, would immediately upgrade the Texans at perhaps the only position that they were not already at least somewhat set at.
Aside from Romo, the Texans have also been linked to Jimmy Garropolo. And guys like Jay Cutler, who is a gunslinging type of quarterback, would be a great fit with Houston. Obviously if someone like Deshaun Watson or Mitch Trubisky drop, then the Texans could very well take one of them. Personally, the Texans have never had an established, solid quarterback since Matt Schaub’s Pro Bowl seasons back when the team was winning 10-12 games each seaso