The Houston Texans took offers for wide receiver Will Fuller before the Nov. 3 trade deadline but ultimately did not find a deal that suited them, with interim head coach Romeo Crennel saying the speedy playmaker wouldn’t be traded “for peanuts.”
If Fuller had been traded, it wouldn’t have sat well with the Texans’ most important player: quarterback Deshaun Watson.
“It would have been hell if they would have did that, for sure,” Watson said. “Honestly. I’m glad to continue to play with Will. We’ve been making a lot of big, big plays since I came into this league, [and we’re] going to continue to do that as we continue to go the rest of this year and hopefully the rest of our careers.”
Fuller and Watson’s impressive chemistry was on display on Sunday in the Texans’ 27-25 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Watson’s trust in Fuller led to a 77-yard touchdown, on which the quarterback lofted the ball down the right sideline and trusted his playmaker to go get it. Fuller did, as he often has when the two try to connect for a big play.
Sunday marked the sixth straight game in which Fuller has caught a touchdown. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, Fuller’s streak is the longest of the season and the longest streak by any player since Antonio Brown caught a touchdown pass in eight straight games in 2018.
Fuller, who is playing on his fifth-year option, said “it really sucked” to be “shopped around like that.”
“Just giving this organization my all, coming to work every day, very unselfish player, do everything they ask, and then, just to be shopped around … I did feel a certain type of way,” Fuller said. “But like I said, I’m happy to be here. I’m happy to play with Deshaun and continue to try to get wins with this organization.”
When the pending free agent was asked whether he wants to stay in Houston, he said, “I’m just focused on staying healthy and helping my team win.”
Midway through the season, Fuller has 36 catches for 590 yards and six touchdowns. He already has more touchdowns this year than he had in either of his past two seasons.
Watson and Fuller have had tremendous success when on the field together, but Fuller has dealt with injuries throughout his NFL career, missing 22 games in his first four seasons. Fuller has played in all eight of the Texans’ games this season.
All along, interim head coach Romeo Crennel stressed that while the Texans would listen to trade offers, he wasn’t interested in letting Fuller or any other player go for “peanuts.” After Fuller caught five passes for 100 yards and a touchdown on Sunday, Crennel reiterated his stance on trading the receiver only for a “deluxe-nut package.”
“I think we saw today why I would only take deluxe nuts for Will Fuller,” Crennel said. “Because he makes tremendous plays, he’s a tremendous athlete, tremendous receiver, and I’m so glad that we have him.”