Cautionary tales abound for the Arizona Cardinals

The Houston Texans and Philadelphia Eagles are cautionary tales for the Arizona Cardinals.

You have to weigh more than just the end of season record.

The Texans kept Bill O’Brien because he had only one losing season in his first six.

They gave him the Ken Whisenhunt treatment and he had personnel control, he wasn’t respected and despite being 52-44 heading into the season, it was obvious the team was flailing.

Now, they have their star quarterback asking for a trade because there’s no help on the way. Remember, the Texans should be picking third overall, but they’re not because of a trade for Laremy Tunsil.

Tunsil is a nice player, but the Texans weren’t a left tackle away from competing.

Instead, they have a good left tackle, but lack talent at wide receiver, thanks for DeAndre Hopkins, as well as the rest of the offensive line needing some help. Their defense has been downgraded as Jadaveon Clowney left and they never really were able to maintain as J.J. Watt battled injuries.

The Texans kept running it back.

Now, they risk losing one of the five best quarterbacks in the NFL.

They likely won’t be able to get fair value if they do trade him, and the question becomes what can the Texans do to make sure they don’t lose Watson?

That’s the question for the Cardinals, is the franchise doing what they can for their quarterback?

Are the coach and GM on the same page, as clearly the Eagles were not.

What can the Cardinals do to make sure they improve, but also are heading towards a championship and not just empty nine and ten win seasons? Do they have a short term and long-term plan in place?

Based on the draft, based in the free agency, it doesn’t seem like it.

Can the Cardinals change that this offseason?