J.J. Watt trade rumors: Texans star expects to follow Deshaun Watson out of Houston

A divorce between defensive lineman J.J. Watt and the Houston Texans feels inevitable.

J.J. Watt will be a future Pro Football Hall of Famer based on the first 10 years of his NFL career with the Houston Texans. However, there is reason to believe he has played his last game for the team that drafted him in the first round out of Wisconsin back in 2011.

Houston was the first team to fire a head coach this year and the last one to hire one. Even with new general manager Nick Caserio and new head coach David Culley coming in, Watt would like some clarity on the direction the Texans are heading. They went 4-12 last season but traded away their No. 3 overall pick. Their star quarterback Deshaun Watson also wants out of town.

According to Ian Rapoport and Mike Garofalo of NFL Network, Watt wants clarity on his future but the expectation is he’s likely to follow Watson out of town.

J.J. Watt leaving the Houston Texans would mean the end of an era

Prior to Watt arriving in Houston in 2011, the expansion Texans franchise had never reached the playoffs. In 10 years with the club, Houston won the AFC South an impressive six times. While they have had three disastrous seasons sprinkled in between, the Texans were for a time one of the better-run organizations in the AFC. At this juncture, everything has hit the fan in Houston.

Watt is on the wrong side of 30 and may only have a few years or so left of anything close to high-quality ball left in the tank. He is absolutely Canton bound, but it will be strange to see him playing in another NFL uniform to close out his illustrious career. Houston has to quickly decide if Watt will be part of the franchise’s rebuilding process or if they will try to reload around him and Watson.

All signs are pointing to Watt and the Texans franchise breaking up after 10 great years together.