The Houston Texans may have just taken a coveted mantle from their in-state rivals in the NFC, the Dallas Cowboys, and it is all thanks to the latest NFL-rattling trade that sent Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers.
It is a move Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio compared unfavorably to the trade sending Deshaun Watson to the Cleveland Browns. That is, at least from the Texans’ perspective.
Florio lambasted the Cowboys, saying they have lost their moniker of “America’s Team.” He even questioned if the Texans could usurp them for the title of “Texas’s team.”
“Texans G.M. Nick Caserio worked the situation masterfully, creating a four-team competition between the Saints, Panthers, Falcons, and Browns that allowed Caserio to name his price to each of them before they were allowed to even talk to Watson,” Florio wrote on September 1. “The Cowboys could have done the same thing with linebacker Micah Parsons. But, as they often do, they waited too long to make a decision.
“More broadly, the Cowboys all too often seem to lack clear strategic vision. But, hey, that’s what happens when the General Manager never should have been the General Manager in the first place.”
– #Cowboys reporter @toddarcher on the Micah Parsons trade.
“Maybe, in hindsight, they should have hired Nick Caserio to be the G.M.,” Florio wrote.
Caserio only used two of the picks he received from the Browns to draft players. Both are still on the roster: running back Dameon Pierce and tight end Cade Stover. He traded the others.
The Texans ultimately landed multiple starters from it, though. Both the Texans’ trade and Dallas’ sent shockwaves around the league. They took many in league circles by surprise that they occurred.
Texans Legend JJ Watt in Awe After Micah Parsons Trade
GettyFormer NFL player and TV analyst JJ Watt looks on before Super Bowl LVIII between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers.
JJ Watt, then a member of the Arizona Cardinals, voiced support for Watson amid his tumultuous exit from the Texans amid sexual assault allegations. Watt expressed disbelief at the Cowboys’ decision.
“Keep refreshing and reading to make sure it’s real,” Watt posted on X on August 28. “No wayyyyyyy. [mind blown emojis]
A Wisconsin native, he also lauded the Packers, saying, “What a play,” about the “rare” move.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who is also the team’s general manager and president, compared the move to when they traded Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings in 1989. That move set Dallas up to win three of its five Super Bowls.
(via @dallascowboys)
Watt, though, believes the Cowboys should have paid Parsons sooner. They could have avoided all of the fallout, much like the Texans did after the Browns gave Watson a historic contract.
“The price for a top tier, premier edge rusher went from $35.5 Million to $47 Million in the 5 month span from March to August,” Watt said in another post on August 28. “Both sides have to be willing, but taking care of guys early is always better for the team in the long run.
“(And also avoids months of animosity.)”
New ‘Worst Trade’ Candidate Emerges
GettyMicah Parsons #11 of the Dallas Cowboys warms up before a game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky believes the Parsons trade will assume the mantle as the “worst” of all time from Dallas’ perspective. It would take over for the Browns in their deal for Watson, whom the Texans selected with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2017 draft.
Watson went to three straight Pro Bowls in his final campaigns on the field with the Texans. He played in seven or fewer games in each of the past three seasons with the Browns.
He is expected to miss most, if not all, of 2025 recovering from a re-torn Achilles tendon.
Orlovsky is hardly alone in his sentiments about the Cowboys’ decision. But the nature of the trade and the surprise that has followed has put the Texans’ handling of Watson – and, for that matter, Caserio – in a different light.
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