Report: Week 17 incident between Texans' Bill O'Brien, Brock Osweiler led to trade

The Texans traded Osweiler to the Browns on Thursday

On Saturday, new Browns quarterback Brock Osweiler told reporters that there wasn’t any news. On Sunday, some news emerged. 

Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio shed light on why the Texans shipped Osweiler to Cleveland after just one season in Houston. According to PFT, the Texans decided to move on in part because of an incident involving Osweiler and coach Bill O’Brien. 

At halftime of the Texans’ Week 17 loss to the Titans, Osweiler was told that he’d be finishing the game due to Tom Savage’s concussion. This is what happened next, per PFT:

Osweiler, per the source, reacted negatively, telling O’Brien in the visiting coach’s office at Nissan Stadium in Nashville that he’s only playing Osweiler because O’Brien needs him. [Editor’s note: That’s sort of how football depth charts work.] An argument ensued, voices were raised. At one point, it’s believed that Osweiler got up to walk away and O’Brien threw out an arm to stop him. That prompted Osweiler to act as if he were being “held hostage,” a claim that he would repeat (per the source) in the days after the game.

And that was that for Osweiler in Houston. Following that incident, the team was determined to find a way to move on from him.

That should sound somewhat familiar. In October, CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora reported on the rising tensions between the player and coach:

According to the source, Osweiler objected to some play-calling decisions during a routine meeting reviewing the Week 5 loss -- O’Brien took over play-calling duties a few weeks into the season -- and he and the head coach subsequently had a loud charged interaction after that meeting that did not go unnoticed by others.

This entire situation is truly remarkable. In less than a year, the Texans went from handing Osweiler $37 million in guarantees without even meeting him, to dealing with a reported physical confrontation during a game, to giving up a second-round draft pick in order to convince the Browns to take his contract off their hands.

It might be remarkable, but the situation was also entirely predictable. Bad stuff tends to happen when you give a giant contract to an awful (and, in this case, giant) quarterback. 

The Texans, though, will have a chance to remedy the situation. Without Osweiler on their salary cap, they’re now free to make a move for Tony Romo once he’s released by the Cowboys.