Tag: deshaun watson jon gruden trade

Jon Gruden: ‘I don’t think there’s any way in the world’ Texans trade Deshaun Watson

If you think the Raiders and Jon Gruden are about to make a blockbuster deal for Deshaun Watson, maybe hold that thought.

Sometimes, news travels and develops in fortuitous ways. Regarding the ongoing issues between Deshaun Watson and the Houston Texans, Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal wrote a story on Tuesday indicating that several NFL insiders expect the Raiders to take calls regarding a possible trade of quarterback Derek Carr. Intimated in that possible deal? Watson going to the Raiders in return for Carr and what would have to be goodness knows how many first-round picks in return. Perhaps a quit claim deed on Allegiant Stadium to boot. 

Is there fire behind that smoke? At this point, it’s hard to say. The Texans have stayed put with their idea that Watson is the future of the franchise, no matter how much he wants out of there, and as Raiders general manager Mike Mayock himself told Bonsignore at the Senior Bowl that “the most important point is that Derek did have an exceptional year. I think he’s gotten better each year with Jon, which is kind of exciting to us internally.”

Finishing his thought on Carr, Mayock said that “I think we’re always interested in keeping good players for as long as we can.”

So, not an absolute, but not exactly a sign from above that the Raiders are open for business. If you want something a bit more definite, at least for now, Gruden was Tuesday’s guest on the must-listen Cris Collinsworth Podcast with Richard Sherman, and here’s exactly what he had to say about Watson’s situation. Collinsworth asked Gruden what it might take to pop Watson loose after the Jared Goff-Matthew Stafford trade, and here’s what the coach said:

“You know, that’s a great question. I personally look at this like a fantasy world. They have a new GM [Nick Caserio] who just went through a year in New England without Tom Brady. I think he has a pretty good idea just how important Deshaun Watson is to the Texans.

“I don’t think there’s any way in the world they trade Deshaun Watson. And if they did, the compensation would be like… they’d have to give up seven No. 1 [draft picks].

“I just think there’s a lot going on. Deshaun’s a great player, he’s a great kid, and I’m sure he’s very emotional right now for a number of reasons. I’ve got a lot of confidence in him that he’s going to be a great quarterback for a long time in Houston. He already signed that contract, and he’ll be a big part of that rebuild.”

Obviously, Gruden could be speaking some serious coachspeak here, but it’s also possible that we might want to pump the brakes on this one.