I know I’ve already written about this, but it’s looking more and more likely that Mr. Deshaun Watson has played his last game for the Houston Texans.
I am fully on team Deshaun, and this paper will essentially just be listing the top five destinations for Deshaun Watson. Teams that have the capital to get Deshaun may not be the greatest teams right now, but they could be in the future, thanks to Deshaun.
Before we start, I’d like to list some teams that I think are out of the Deshaun Watson sweepstakes. Those teams are (but not limited to);
Baltimore Ravens; Lamar Jackson
Cincinnati Bengals; Joe Burrow
Cleveland Browns; Baker Mayfield
Tennessee Titans; Ryan Tannehill
Buffalo Bills; Josh Allen
Kansas City; Patrick Mahomes
Los Angeles Chargers; Justin Herbert
Dallas Cowboys; Dak Prescott (if they bring him back, which they should)
Green Bay Packers; Aaron Rodgers
Arizona Cardinals; Kyler Murray
Seattle Seahawks; Russell Wilson
Now, this is not to say that these quarterbacks are better than Deshaun Watson, some are nowhere near as talented as Deshuan, but I just feel these teams are committed to their starters, at least for this offseason.
There are some teams that aren’t necessarily 100% committed to their QBs, but I just don't think they'll trade for Deshaun. Teams such as the Rams, Giants, Eagles, Steelers, Falcons, among some others I think are some teams who are kind of out of this sweepstakes. That’s not saying that won’t trade for him, but I just feel they’ll either look somewhere else or keep their current guy.
Teams like the Eagles and Rams have a lot of money put into their starting quarterbacks, which rules them out in my book in trading for Deshaun Watson.
I would also like to add that I don’t think Houston, though stupid, would trade Deshaun Watson within their division. So I am also going to rule out the Colts, Jaguars, and Titans, though I mentioned Tennessee before.
So, without further adieu, let’s get this list started!
5. Washington Football Team; 2020 record - 7-9
Despite the odds, the Washington Football Team, lack of name and all, won the NFC East. When people were looking towards the Eagles and Cowboys to actually live up to expectations, the team without a name won the division.
Spearheaded by a very strong defense, building it the same way the San Francisco 49ers, drafting a very good and young defensive lineman. Though Chase Young has been the star and was the final piece to the puzzle, players like Montez Sweat, Da’Ron Payne, and Jonathan Allen made it an elite defensive line.
When Alex Smith got injured against Deshaun Watson’s Texans, nobody knew if we’d see him play again. Well, he did play again, and played well.
As the starter for Washington, Alex Smith led them to a 5-1 record. That was with Alex Smith, what could they do with a quarterback with the skill level of Deshaun Watson?
Deshaun Watson is fresh off of a career year. A year that saw him lead the league in passing yards and yards per attempt while ranking second in completion percentage and passer rating while also ranking second in the league in another stat, sacks.
Though Washington doesn’t have the greatest offensive line right now, the rest of their team is a lot more desirable than the team he is currently on.
We’ve mentioned the defense, which is one thousand times better than the Texans defense, but they’ve also got a number one receiver in Terry McLaurin, an athletic tight end in Logan Thomas, and a young offensive coordinator in Scott Turner.
The Washington Football Team also rank sixth in cap space for the upcoming season and don’t necessarily have a glaring need with their 2021 first round pick, pick 19.
If Washington were to trade for Deshaun, those future draft picks wouldn’t mean as much, because they’re going to be expecting to be a top team in the NFL. The problem is that they don’t have a young QB to trade to Houston, so they may have to give up more picks than a team that has a good/young quarterback.
I think the culture that Ron Rivera has established on that team is what Deshaun Watson should be looking for. Though they have been a laughing stock for most of the 2000s, Ron Rivera has given outsiders something good to look at for that organization.
If Deshaun were to go to Washington, I think it’d be fun to see where they go in the future. They were a playoff team with an elite defense and a bang average offense. Now, imagine them with a legit top five QB paired with that defense, fun to think about.
4. New England Patriots; 2020 record - 7-9
This scares me. After we were gifted Tom Brady leaving the Patriots, we are now linked with a top 5 QB to go back. Can we not catch a break?
The main reason I think this could go down is the fact the Patriots rank fourth in upcoming cap space and Bill Belichick has been known to trade draft picks willy nilly. Draft picks, historically, haven’t been valued with Bill Belichick throughout his coaching tenure.
Everybody knows the Patriots need to figure out the quarterback position, but they also need to get weapons for said future quarterback. If they were to trade for Deshaun, would they be able to get the weapons required to make Deshaun happy? Time will tell.
It’s obvious, to me, that none of the quarterbacks that the Patriots have on their roster are the franchise guy they are looking for. Cam Newton was an experiment that didn’t work, Jarrett Stidham, though limited playing time, hasn’t looked great, and Brian Hoyer is Brian Hoyer. They need to get that position solved this offseason.
The Patriots are obviously coming off a bad year by their standards, crazy to think that them and Washington finished 7-9 and one is more desirable than the others is kind of crazy to think about.
One thing to think about with their 7-9 season is because they had quite a bit of opt outs and injuries prior to the season starting. Losing players to that plus others leaving in free agency made this a difficult year for the Patriots and their fans. I’m sorry if I don’t have sympathy for them.
Players like Marcus Cannon, Patrick Chung, Dont’a Hightower, Danny Vitale, Marqise Lee, among others, all opted out. Players like Julian Edleman, Isaiah Wynn, Rex Burkhead, among others were all injured. Players like Jamie Collins, Kyle Van Noy, Danny Shelton, TOM BRADY and others all left in free agency. That’s a lot of key players gone from the previous season.
The receivers not being up to par is another thing, hopefully for their sake that actually develop into legit wide receivers. I think having Julian Edleman back could help motivate that group of players.
Another important thing is that the new Texans GM worked with the Patriots for 20 years, could he be the key to making this trade happen? Do I smell collusion? Maybe...
If the Patriots got Deshaun Watson and paired him with Josh McDaniels, I think it’d be scary for the rest of the league. Once all these players come back and they hit the ground running in free agency, I think the Patriots could, unfortunately, back.
3. San Francisco 49ers; 2020 record 6-10
If the reports are true, the 49ers seem to be ready to move on from Jimmy Garoppolo. Ever since he’s been in San Francisco, or Santa Clara, he’s won games. When Jimmy G is healthy, the 49ers win games. The only problem is that he’s never healthy.
Since going to the Niners, Jimmy G has played more than six games once, that one season they went to the Super Bowl. There’s an old adage that says the best ability is availability. If he’s not available and you don’t feel you can trust his health, why not try something different?
Another thing that is apparent to me is that Jimmy G doesn’t necessarily fit Kyle Shanahan’s offense. He’s not a bomb down the field QB like Matt Ryan, he is essentially in the mold of Tom Brady, the problem is, a) he’s not Tom Brady and b) he’s not as good.
I have no real issue with Jimmy G, but he is limited in what he can do and we can’t say he’s worth anywhere near the contract he signed when he first was traded to the Niners.
Out of all the teams on this list, the Niners have a lot of pieces in place to be a beast with Deshaun. If they didn’t essentially die due to injuries, they would’ve been competing towards the end of the season, but that’s the nature of the beast.
They have an elite defense, when healthy, a good o-line and weapons in the back field and out wide, why not get a quarterback that can truly unleash this offense? Deshaun Watson would do that.
Imagining Deshaun Watson with Kyle Shanahan is some mouth watering stuff. The amount of things Deshaun Watson can do that Jimmy G can’t is endless. Deshaun is 10x the quarterback Jimmy G is. And though Deshaun was sacked 49 times last season, he never missed a game, which is another key thing here.
The 49ers, again, have the pieces in place to be an insane team with Deshaun Watson. They are ranked 14th in cap space for the upcoming offseason, saving money by trading away DeForest Buckner, and have a top 15 pick.
The Niners, like every team in this list, would be more than willing to trade away anything to get Deshaun, as, compared to the other teams, they have more pieces to succeed without draft picks. If they didn’t have the injuries, they would have an insane team.
They have the defense, they have the weapons, now go and get the quarterback. I would absolutely love to see Deshaun Watson on the 49ers. Him and Kyle Shanahan could be a match made in Heaven.
2. New York Jets; 2020 record - 2-14
Though they were the worst team out of all of these teams listed, I think they have the most to give the Texans in order to get Deshaun.
The Jets have the third most cap space available this upcoming offseason and possess the second overall pick. Another key thing they have is a quarterback that teams around the league value due to his potential in Sam Darnold. What would be best for Sam and the Jets is to break up, could Sam revive his career with the Texans? Could be interesting.
Along with Robert Saleh, the Jets also hired Mike LaFleur, brother of Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur. LaFleur, Mike, comes in the mold of OC’s organizations are looking for, young and connected to a young head coach, either McVay or Shanahan.
Mike LaFluer has followed Kyle Shanahan from Atlanta to San Francisco and has now followed Saleh to New York. Now, this is his first stint as a coordinator, I am excited to see what he could do. What could help him out the most would be getting a quarterback as established and as good as Deshaun Watson.
Another big thing for the Jets is the fact that they have just hired a new head coach in Robert Saleh, and he and GM Joe Douglas have 0 connections to Sam Darnold. The people who drafted him are gone, I think they could and should move on from Sam.
Reports were after the season ended that the Jets could be involved in a massive trade, that trade could involve Deshaun Watson. It doesn't get much bigger than trading for a top 5 quarterback coming off a career year.
Now, one key issue here is the fact the Jets don’t really have a good defense or offense, but that’s the thing with a lot of cap space, they should be able to afford Deshaun’s contract and get some pieces to help out Deshaun.
The Jets have a ton of picks and capital to get Deshaun. Whether they send Sam to Houston or not, I feel the Jets should make a big deal to get Deshaun Watson. The Jets haven’t had a quarterback since Broadway Joe, this would be the guy to hopefully turn the franchise around.
1. Miami Dolphins; 2020 record - 10-6
Out of all the teams on this list, this was the only team with a winning record. Though the Dolphins finished 10-6, they missed the Playoffs. Crazy to think they were better than both the Bears and the aforementioned Washington Football Team yet they missed the Playoffs. Heart break for Dolphins fans.
The Dolphins, as we stand right now, are the best team on this list. They remarkably avoided injuries on both sides of the ball and played great on the defensive side of the ball throughout the season.
Last offseason, the Dolphins went after some defensive talent in free agency while also going after young offensive players in the draft. Getting two young tackles and, of course, Tua Tagovailoa.
I think it was pretty well documented throughout the Draft process that Dolphins head coach Brian Flores didn’t want Tua, instead wanting Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert. But we know the Dolphins brass had wanted Tua a whole year before the 2020 draft, starting the Tank for Tua campaign.
The tank worked in the end, as the Dolphins go Tua, but as I said in my last Deshaun Watson article (link here; https://www.theloganblackmanshow.com/post/houston-we-have-a-problem-deshaun-watson-trade) the Dolphins players and coaches weren’t overly convinced by Tua this offseason and were surprised when Tua was named starter over Ryan Fitzpatrick.
I don’t think that was a coaching decision, more of an organization decision. And after the infamous Tua quote, it all went down hill.
As it turned out, it was a lot harder for Tua than he first thought. Though he showed some good play, I don’t know if the coaches and players back him and I honestly don’t know what he does better than Herbert, other than maybe accuracy. They said he had the “it factor,” what is that exactly?
A quarterback who I think does have that supposed “it factor” is Deshaun Watson. I think this because he can change games. He has the body type, the athletic ability, arm talent, and a winning mentality, that’s an “it factor.”
The Dolphins have the capital to trade for Deshaun. As we stated in the previous article, they have the picks, cap space, and players (if necessary) to trade for Deshaun.
If the Dolphins got Deshaun Watson, that would maybe catapult them into the top five teams in the league.
Their defense plus their new look offense with Deshaun and a new OC would make people fear the Dolphins. I think Brian Flores is a good head coach and would construct a team that would be competing with Buffalo for years to come.
Overall, my gut says Deshaun is coming to the AFC East. Of course he is! Of course the Bills are good, the rest of the division wants to get good. Why didn’t they want to do that when the Pats were good?
Obviously this is all in good fun. If the Bills want to be a good team they have to beat good teams and whoever Deshaun Watson goes to will be a good team. A damn good team at that.
I love Deshaun Watson as a player and I want to see him on a team that would be able to utilize his skills the best, and I feel these five teams are the most likely to trade for him.
This trade will be awesome to follow and everyone will be anxiously waiting to see where Deshaun goes this offseason, because I think we all know, he ain’t playing in Houston next year.
Great job Houston, ya pissed off your franchise guy. Now go and try to find another one.
Pretty good list, although it did make me sad that the Raiders didn’t make the list.