Deshaun Watson reacts to J.J. Watt being released by Texans

Deshaun Watson tweeted out a message of respect to his now former Texans teammate J.J. Watt after the Houston legend was released Friday.

The Houston Texans are approaching levels of dysfunction rarely seen in professional sports. The team is unwillingly going through a reset and that began Friday with the release of Texans legend J.J. Watt.

Releasing Watt was not a controversial move as his play and health has declined in recent years. But it was quite the unceremonious exit for someone who is Houston. Deshaun Watson, who also wants out, tweeted out his support of his Texans teammate.

https://twitter.com/deshaunwatson/status/1360258930174271488

Watson praises Watt as the two seek new beginnings

Even though Watson is no longer associating himself with the Texans on social media, he had to take a moment to shout out his legendary teammate. Watt and Watson seemed to be two people who actually cared about winning in Houston. That appears to be a rare thing given the current leadership in charge.

Both Watt and Watson need some change. The former called out his team late in the season and the latter has made it clear he wants nothing to do with the franchise based on its current trajectory. Watson’s support of Watt shows the two have similar feelings and now the quarterback will hope he can join his former teammate in wearing a new uniform in 2021.

Praising Watt is an incredibly easy thing to do. Just think of how Watson felt when he showed up in Houston and the team went 4-12 in his rookie season. Watt was there as the leader and the team rebounded to make the playoffs in each of the next two seasons, almost in spite of Bill O’Brien.

There was a real culture on the Texans that will be tough to replace. This team looked like a legitimate Super Bowl contender in 2019 and what has followed is trading DeAndre  Hopkins, releasing Watt, and likely trading Watson. Watt deserves all the praise from Watson and everyone in Houston for sticking it out for so long amid the turmoil.