The Houston Texans made a massive mistake last offseason when they signed Brock Osweiler, and team owner Bob McNair thinks the decision was the result of a lack of research.
Speaking from the NFL owners’ meetings in Phoenix on Monday, McNair said the way free agency is structured did not allow the Texans to get to know Osweiler enough before inking him to a $72 million contract.
“We didn’t know Brock well enough,” McNair said, per John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. “Coach (O’Brien) didn’t have a chance to get to know him. That’s one of the problems with free agency.
“You need to know who you’re dealing with. In the draft, we’re able to bring them to Houston, sit down with them, watch them interviewed by a bunch of coaches, and you have time to check them out. You can’t talk to them before they become a free agent. You can’t work them out. We didn’t know him that well.”
McNair said it was a “shocker” that the Texans were able to unload Osweiler’s salary in a trade with the Cleveland Browns, and you can understand why he feels that way. The Browns basically paid Houston $16 million for a second-round draft pick, which is a deal the Texans were ecstatic to make.
“Everybody around the league, their jaws are still hanging open,” McNair said of the trade. “It’s something no one thought (about), and I think other people have looked at that, and they’ve been trying to do the same thing without success.”
Osweiler was arguably the worst quarterback in the NFL last season, and we knew McNair was unhappy with him as soon as he made these comments. The Browns essentially gave Houston a do-over at the most important position on the field.
