The relationship between quarterback Deshaun Watson and the Houston Texans appears to be deteriorating rapidly.
According to Jenny Vrentas and Greg Bishop of Sports Illustrated, Watson badly wants out of Houston and the front office’s general ineptness is a big reason why. Apparently, team owner Cal McNair had promised to give the young QB a chance to offer his thoughts on the team’s next GM. Rather than living up to that pledge, he subsequently turned around and hired Nick Caserio in the role without speaking to Watson.
Beyond that, the Texans also failed to interview Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, despite Watson’s urging.
The cumulative effect of all these moves has been the creation of massive distrust between Watson and the organization. At this point, the relationship seems untenable.
If the Texans do opt to grant Watson a reprieve and trade him, two serious trade candidates have emerged: the San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins.
Niners legend Steve Young appeared on KNBR’s Tolbert, Krueger & Brooks show this week and broke down what a package for Watson could look like.
“I would give two first-round picks for generational quarterbacks — these are potential Hall of Famers,” he said. “Who are the generational quarterbacks playing right now? Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, probably Josh Allen. Like, young guys. Justin Herbert, very quickly. I would not trade Justin Herbert for less than that, even though he’s won four games or something like that. But there’s something about him that really gives me that sense.”
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— Game 7 (@game7__) January 14, 2021
Last week, ESPN NFL insider Chris Mortenson reported that the Dolphins were also a serious candidate for Watson’s services.
“One scenario for a landing spot is the Miami Dolphins, trading places with Tua Tagovailoa to the Houston Texans,” he said. “And you’re not going to get anything but denials at this stage from both franchises, but this is an offseason puzzle we may be trying to put together.”
Lending credibility to the idea of Miami being a player in these sweepstakes is the fact that players in the locker room have a deep seeded lack of respect for Tagovailoa. One that they’re not particularly shy about expressing.
Then again, Dolphins head coach Brian Flores has repeatedly expressed confidence in his young quarterback – so who knows.
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— Game 7 (@game7__) January 7, 2021
The Philadelphia Eagles are also a dark horse candidate for Watson’s services, assuming Dabo Swinney wants out of Clemson.
Watson had a very strong individual 2020 campaign, recording 4,823 yards and 33 touchdowns. That sort of production on a non-dysfunctional team could be a recipe for a Super Bowl. Sadly, it is beginning to look like he’ll never get the chance to prove it.
Will Watson ever have the opportunity to live out his one big career goal? Unless he gets traded from the Texans, the answer appears to be no.
Related: Russell Westbrook Demanded Trade Over James Harden’s Partying?
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
