Why Oddsmakers Believe Texans’ Deshaun Watson Will Be a Patriot in 2021

Deshaun Watson

Getty Oddsmakers believe Deshaun Watson will be the Patriots starting QB in 2021.

Jarrett Stidham appears to be the man in place to replace Tom Brady as the New England Patriots quarterback, but Las Vegas oddsmakers say that an established NFL star is more likely to be the starter in 2021 than Stidham.

According to BetOnline, Houston Texans superstar and QB Deshaun Watson is favored to be the Patriots starting QB after the upcoming season.

The Odds Per BetOnline

Here is a look at the odds for just about every QB imaginable as it relates to the Patriots:

  • Deshaun Watson +300
  • Jarrett Stidham +500
  • Trevor Lawrence +500
  • Kyle Trask +700
  • Dak Prescott +900
  • Jacoby Brissett +1100
  • Andy Dalton +1200
  • Cam Newton +1200
  • Derek Carr +1200
  • Matthew Stafford +1200
  • Taysom Hill +1200
  • Mac Jones +1600
  • Ryan Fitzpatrick +2000
  • Brian Hoyer +2500
  • Sam Ehlinger +2500
  • JT Daniels +3300
  • Aaron Rodgers +5000
  • Patrick Mahomes +10000

Hoyer has reportedly joined the team for a third time on a one-year deal. Having him as a starter would mean Stidham failed miserably or has been injured. Neither is an ideal scenario for the Patriots.

 

Why Deshaun Watson Might Be on the Move

Deshaun Watson

GettyBill OBrien and Deshaun Watson may not be seeing eye-to-eye.

Texans head coach and general manager Bill O’Brien has traded away all-world wide receiver and fellow Clemson alum DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals, and there is an appearance of unrest within the Texans’ organization after the head-scratching deal. If Houston falters during the 2020 season or has another disappointing postseason performance, that could be all that is needed to push Watson to ask for a trade, or to at least create doubt in the Texans’ minds about his willingness to re-sign.

If that’s the scenario, the team could elect to trade him rather than risk losing him without immediate compensation.

Watson is entering the final season of his rookie contract. Because of how well he has performed, he is due a massive raise that could be worth as much as $190 million over five years.

If Watson is unhappy, or if the Texans choose not to sink that much into one position, it’s not silly to imagine a scenario where Watson is traded to the highest bidder.

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Why the Houston Texans Might Take this Scenario off the Table

Watson will only be 25 years old when the 2020 season is heading into Week 2, barring no delays related to COVID-19. He’s already established himself as an upper-echelon QB and truthfully, his best years might still be ahead of him.

If the Texans perform well, perhaps even advance to the Super Bowl–or even win it all–the chances the two sides are happy and willing to extend the relationship will increase.

I’m not saying it’s Super Bowl or bust in H-Town, but winning fixes a multitude of disagreements, or at least postpones the breakup. Just ask the Patriots, Tom Brady, and Bill Belichick.

 

Would the Patriots Be Willing to Invest Mega Bucks in Watson?

The biggest issue with a Watson-to-Patriots deal is the price tag. Watson has proven to be as worthy of a deal with an annual average salary of $38 million as anyone in the league not named Patrick Mahomes. However, the Patriots have only spent that kind of dough on Brady historically. Obviously, that’s a special scenario.

Would Watson represent the kind of case that would justify that sort of a deal? There are tons of variables, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility. Parking lot this one for about 12 months and let’s revisit it this time next year when we’ll hopefully only be discussing football and not a pandemic.

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