One of the best young quarterbacks in the league could be looking to leave his current team.
Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is unhappy with the organization, according to multiple reports. His discontent comes after the team failed to consult him when they hired new general manager Nick Caserio and declined to interview Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy for their head coach position. Watson had previously said that the Texans told him he would be involved in the process, per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
Naturally, trade speculation is starting to swirl around the situation. Every team in the NFL without an entrenched starting quarterback should at least check on Watson’s status. That includes the Jets, who have the draft capital to acquire Watson despite the presence of Sam Darnold and the potential to draft a quarterback with the No. 2 overall pick in April.
Acquiring Watson would take a more-than-substantial package, but the idea is certainly tempting. Pairing him with a coach like Bienemy, who the Jets interviewed on Wednesday, would immediately make the Jets a contender again in the AFC East. Joe Douglas would sacrifice a lot – including the draft capital and financial flexibility he meticulously acquired over the past 19 months – but there aren’t many quarterbacks like Watson in the league and it’s not guaranteed the Jets would draft one, either.
But would the Texans even trade Watson? Probably not.
The Texans have almost no urgency to move on from a quarterback as good as Watson unless they receive a bounty that could completely rebuild their broken roster in one or two years. The No. 2 pick would be enticing, though, considering the allure of someone like Justin Fields or Zach Wilson on a rookie contract.
There has never been a young quarterback like Watson traded in the modern NFL given his age, production and skillset. He’s only 25 and just put together a career-year, completing 70.2 percent of his passes and tossing 33 touchdowns with just seven interceptions while leading the NFL with 4,823 passing yards. Watson has 14,539 career passing yards, 1,677 career rushing yards and 122 combined touchdowns in four seasons. He also signed a four-year, $156 million contract last offseason with over $110 million guaranteed.
It would take an unprecedented package to acquire Watson. The closest quarterback trade in recent history was when the Falcons traded two first-round picks and a third to the Colts for Jeff George in 1994, and that wouldn’t even be enough to acquire Watson.
In reality, it would likely cost closer to what the Vikings traded for Hershel Walker in 1989 or what Washington received for the pick that became Ricky Williams in 1999. The Cowboys received three first-round picks, three second-round picks, a third-round pick, a sixth-round pick and four players for Walker, while the Saints traded two firsts, two thirds, a fourth, a fifth and a sixth to move up and draft Williams.
The Jets are actually one of the few teams with the combination of draft picks and cap space to conceivably pull off a trade for Watson. A reasonable deal could include Darnold, the No. 2 pick in 2021, the Jets’ two first-round picks in 2022 and some other picks. The Jets also have enough cap room in 2021 to absorb Watson’s hefty $15.9 million cap hit, though that number jumps significantly to $40.4 million and more in the following years.
While acquiring a player like Watson makes sense in a vacuum, it might not be the smartest move for Douglas to mortgage the team’s future. The Jets have a lot of other missing pieces, and trading for Watson would disable them from building a more cohesive roster.
Watson is one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL. If Douglas can acquire him for a reasonable package, he absolutely should. Watson would completely change the trajectory of the Jets’ future and turn them into a contender quickly.
But a reasonable package doesn’t sound like a realistic one, and Douglas has set a strong precedent for not overspending. While the idea of Watson in green and white is one Jets fans can dream about, it also doesn’t feel too plausible at the moment.