Getty Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson talks to Chicago Bears inside linebacker Roquan Smith
Eddie Jackson is ready to play alongside an elite quarterback. The All-Pro safety for the Chicago Bears has a new defensive coordinator to work within the recently promoted Sean Desai, but his mind seems to be on how much he’d like an elite quarterback to come to town: namely, Deshaun Watson.
Jackson took to Twitter in the wee hours Monday morning to add his voice to a now growing list of Bears players who have hinted they’d like to see Watson head to the Windy City. Jackson’s fellow All-Pro Cordarrelle Patterson, who has a penchant for recruiting just about every available player on Twitter, was the first member of the team to recruit Watson.
@deshaunwatson make some moves this off season fam!!! #DABEARS
DW4️⃣🤔
Jackson is now the second, and while his Tweet was slightly vague (he could always say he was referring to Denzel Washington or Dionne Warwick or someone else), Jackson also suggested Chicago could win a Super Bowl with Watson on a short video on Instagram earlier this month that has since been deleted.
Landing Watson will remain a pipe dream for the Bears and their fans until the team signs or drafts someone else, but analyst and insider Louis Riddick — who is a close friend and former colleague of Bears head coach Matt Nagy — is still telling you there’s a chance.
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Louis Riddick: Bears Could Still Go ‘All In’ On Watson
During a recent appearance on Mike Greenberg’s podcast, Riddick doubled down on Chicago as a perfect landing spot for the 25-year-old quarterback, and he once again stressed that Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace are going to go after Watson with vigor if he’s made available.
“If I’m going to go all in, that’s the team that should go all in,” Riddick said about the Bears. “And I wouldn’t be surprised if they do.”
Last month, Riddick also mentioned Nagy’s admiration of Watson, and he spoke as though the Bears have a better chance than some may realize to land the Pro Bowl signal-caller.
“I can tell you this, Matt Nagy loves Deshaun Watson,” Riddick noted. “I know he loves Watson. You think right now he isn’t trying to figure out a way to get in the mix for that discussion. I guarantee you he is… And I’ll tell you this … knowing Matt like I know him, I know his wheels are turning right now trying to figure out: ‘Could I be a player in this? Could I somehow get my name into this?’ Trust me — he’s trying to figure it out.”
Bears Have What Texans Are Rumored to Want in Watson Trade
According to Pro Football Talk’s Peter King, the Texans have already received offers from multiple teams for Watson, and they’re refusing to even listen to them. But it’s early in the offseason, and Watson has made it crystal clear that he has no desire to play in Houston again, so the situation is far from over.
The Bears also have what the Texans have been rumored to want in exchange for a player like Watson. Per John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, the Texans will “want 2 ones, 2 twos and 2 young defensive starters, at the least.” The defensive starters bit is where Chicago could have a distinct advantage over other teams in the league. With players like Roquan Smith, Jaylon Johnson and Bilal Nichols, the Bears have more young talent on defense than many teams around the league despite having lackluster draft capital.
Look — it’s clear there are going to be close to a dozen teams who are going to go after Watson with everything they have — maybe more. The Carolina Panthers are the latest team to clear a ton of cap space and enter the nonexistent — yet totally real — Deshaun Watson sweepstakes. It will be interesting to see how it all pans out for Watson, who has a say in where he’ll go if he does get traded. Right now, the only certainty for the Bears is that they need a franchise quarterback — and a growing number of the team’s players are letting it be known they’d love it if Watson could become that guy.
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