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There’s no telling whether star quarterback Deshaun Watson will be traded at some point soon. We know that the reigning NFL passing yards leader requested a trade earlier in the offseason. Since then, north of 20 women have come forward accusing Watson of sexual misconduct and/or sexual assault.
This has pretty much put an end to any trade talks. Interested teams are going to have a hard time meeting Houston’s asking price with that as a backdrop.
Now, with Houston slated to open its season in three weeks, we’re hearing more on the Deshaun Watson trade front.
According to Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports, any AFC team looking to make a move for Watson would be forced to give up three first-round picks as well as two second-round selections or multiple starter-caliber players.
This report seems to suggest that any NFC team looking to acquire Watson might have to offer up less to pry the Pro Bowl signal caller away from the Texans.
There’s some reasoning behind this. New Texans general manager Nick Caserio wants to move Watson outside of the conference should he be forced to trade the star quarterback.
We’ve seen similar scenarios in the pats with the then-Oakland Raiders moving Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears. The same thing cam be said when the New England Patriots packaged Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers and the New York Giants spurned offers from NFC teams to move Odell Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns.
Is a Deshaun Watson trade even realistic at this point?
Recently, a report indicated that Watson could be a “healthy scratch” for the entire 2021 season. Right now, he’s fourth on the Houston Texans’ depth chart behind Tyrod Taylor, Davis Mills and Jeff Driskel.
Recent indications that the FBI has gotten in investigating Deshaun Watson coupled with an ongoing criminal investigation from authorities in Houston to add another layer to the entire situation. Again, it’s going to be hard for any team to match the Texans’ asking price for Watson with his football future firmly up in the air.
With all of that said, the Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles continue to keep tabs on Watson in a potential blockbuster trade. Philadelphia’s interest in Watson makes sense in that the team’s brass might not be sold on sophomore quarterback Jalen Hurts.
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As for Carolina, owner David Tepper previously spearheaded interest in Watson. However, that pre-dated both the allegations against the star quarterback and Carolina’s acquisition of Sam Darnold. Whether there’s still interest on this front remains to be seen.
Watson, 25, has been brilliant throughout his four-year career. The three-time Pro Bowler has accounted for 121 total touchdowns against 36 interceptions. All things equal, half of the league would be interested in the star quarterback. However, all things are not equal at this point due to his legal situation.