At this point, it’s no secret the Houston Texans have taken up the mantle as most dysfunctional organization in football and potentially in all of sports. They’ve not only allowed the fracture with three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Deshaun Watson to mushroom into a trade demand but, by all accounts, they also started it. They’ve since hammered home an unwillingness to honor the request, but that’s not the only face of the franchise whose future they must figure out.

Albeit with a different arc, they must also determine the next course of action on J.J. Watt — with speculation of a possible trade looming for him as well. It’s a lot to take in for Watt, a stalwart in Houston, but his initial coping mechanism was quite pleasant.

“I process it by going to Hawaii for a week,” he said in a recent Q&A with The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon. “And I probably should have stayed there. I probably should’ve stayed. It was great.”

What he returned home to was an unmitigated disaster of affairs within the organization, which dovetails on what it’s been for much of the season. Watt made headlines this season with a passionate press conference that reamed any and all players who he deemed weren’t giving it their all as the Texans floundered to a 4-12 record, and was seen apologizing to Watson for the team “wasting” one his NFL years, and it all justifiably sparked rumors that Watt would look to move on in 2021, and that was prior to the situation with Watson going nuclear.

But surely word of a potential trade reached the shores of Hawaii, yes? If it did, Watt playfully notes it wouldn’t have been called a “trade”, and he would’ve been too busy relaxing to notice either way.

“No, no — the word in Hawaii was ‘manapua’,” said the three-time Defensive Player of the Year. “And we were enjoying Mai Tais by the pool, so that was a good way for me to cope with it.”

Calming tropical drinks aside, Watt is set to hit the Texans salary cap in 2021 for a robust $17.5 million and he currently has no clue where he stands with the organization. It’s the final year of his deal and the club could save the entire sum if they release or trade him, but there’s also the chance they approach him for an extension of some sort — something that seems less likely but is far from impossible when considering what he means to both the team and the city. And in a year wherein they might part ways with Watson, retaining Watt would go a long way in preventing an uproar in the fanbase that’s already at fever pitch.

All of this, and more, must be decided by the front office and newly-hired head coach David Culley and, as for Watt, it’s back to life and back to reality after decompressing on The Big Island.

Or is it?

“I might just head back there.”

—CBSSPORTS