With Matthew Stafford now traded, all eyes are on Deshaun Watson. Watson reportedly requested a trade from the Houston Texans last week, and could draw a huge market value now after what we saw Stafford get Saturday night. He is currently in the 1st year of his 4 year/$156M deal and will make a base salary of $10M in 2021. Whether you think he will be traded this off-season or not, eventually both sides will want out & Watson will be traded. But for now, let’s have a little fun guessing where he goes. A big part in these trade talks is Watson has a no trade clause in his contract, so he can basically pick and choose where he goes.
- New York Jets. The Jets have been rumored to have interest in Watson for a couple weeks now, and they have both the salary cap and draft capital to make it work. The Jets would most likely give up their 2nd overall pick this year, plus 1 other 1st rounder, and 2 2nd round picks to get Watson, and it may not stop there. If the Texans have enough and really want to move him, they could find a team like New York to try and get more from Watson. This move would likely also mean that New York would make a strong push for a WR, more specifically Allen Robinson to pair with Watson. Sitting at $63M cap space before Free Agency, the Jets will have enough to land both Robinson & Watson.
- San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers were one of many teams who made a strong push for Matthew Stafford, so it’s evident they aren’t happy with their current QB situation. If they do feel this way, trading/releasing Garoppolo pre June 1st would save the team $23M to use towards paying Watson. Pairing him up with George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, and Brandon Aiyuk would make for a nasty offense. San Francisco may feel pressured to make a move at QB to keep up with the Rams in the division.
- Miami Dolphins. Although this is becoming more and more unlikely, it would make sense for Miami to get Watson. Acquiring Watson already puts them as contenders for the Championship, but start giving him more weapons, and we could see a few AFCE Titles in their future as well. With a handful of picks in their arsenal, Miami has enough picks to acquire Watson & give him enough weapons to succeed.
- Carolina Panthers. The Panthers were another team that made a run at Stafford in trade talks. Carolina shopping around for QBs has to sound off alarms in the QB room, especially in Teddy Bridgewater. Teddy B is entering the 2nd year of his 3 year/$63M deal, and the only way it would make financial sense to replace him would be to trade him with a post June 1st tag. Pairing Watson with DJ Moore & Christian Mccaffrey would make for a top offense. Watson still fits the style of Carolina’s offense, so you wouldn’t miss a beat adding a new QB.
- Chicago Bears. The Bears should also be in the mix for Deshaun Watson. Mitchell Trubisky is entering the final year of his contract with no signs of Chicago bringing him back, and Nick Foles as the only other capable QB on their roster, Watson has to be in play for Chicago here. What would worry me would be the lack of receivers they would put in front of Deshaun. With Allen Robinson entering Free Agency, they will most likely lose him, which would leave only Anthony Miller & Darnell Mooney with no 1st round pick. HC Matt Nagy may not want to restart at the QB position & draft a rookie, so adding a veteran would be huge for his job status.