My analysis was spot off.
"I don't know what Watson's leverage is," the first executive said. "Yeah, he can choose who they can't trade him to, but what is he going to do if they don't trade him? Sit out?"
"I've seen several contracts through the years with a no-trade clause," said one veteran agent with experience representing starting quarterbacks. "I've yet to see a must-trade clause in one."
Right now, the answer coming out of Houston is a "no" to trading Watson, and the first executive doesn't expect that to change. Caserio and head coach David Culley will do their best to try to make peace with Watson.
"If you are the new GM or head coach, you are going to do everything you can to change it, to smooth things over," the executive said.
Only Watson knows what lengths he will go to get out of Houston. It's only February, and with reports that he hasn't been taking calls from McNair (most recently from
Albert Breer of SI.com), this has all of the signs of becoming a months-long, drawn-out drama.