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The inevitable has occurred. Pro Bowl quarterback Deshaun Watson has asked the Houston Texans to trade him, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
While a move to the New York Giants seems unfeasible at the moment, that hasn’t stopped Giants faithful and analysts from firing up the trade machine in order to ship the franchise signal-caller to East Rutherford.
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ESPN Floats Hypothetical Deshaun Watson-Giants Trade Package
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell took a jab at just this, enlisting 17 potential trade proposals, one of which has Watson making his way to New York in one hell of a blockbuster deal.
Here’s what the hypothetical trade looks like in full:
Giants send: 11th overall pick in 2021, 2022 first-round pick, 2023 first-round pick, QB Daniel Jones
Texans send: 2023 fourth-round pick, QB Deshaun Watson
Jones showed virtually no growth in his second season, as his numbers stagnated or declined across the board. He missed two-plus games with injuries and led the league in fumbles for the second consecutive season. The best arguments that he’s an NFL-caliber starting quarterback consist of his frame and the fact that at least one team thought he was worth the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft. I’m not sure anybody is higher on Jones than the guy who would be trading him away, Giants general manager Dave Gettleman.
Jones is still young enough to improve, but he hasn’t been good enough for the Texans to plan their future around him, which leaves the Giants in a bind. Would they be willing to send three first-rounders and Jones to get a deal done? And after seeing one former Pats coach sink his franchise, would Watson want to go play for another Bill Belichick disciple in Joe Judge?
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Watson’s Salary & Trade Overview
The biggest drawback in any Watson chatter thus far, Giants included or not, has been his monstrous salary. Thankfully, Houston has taken care of a hefty chunk of that. The Texans have already paid the quarterback’s $27 million and structured Watson’s contract to keep his cap hit feasibly low in 2021, checking in at a tad below $16 million.
That number does take a sizeable leap the following season. However, as Barnwell notes, there are ways to mitigate the damage.
That number jumps to $40.4 million in 2022, but the acquiring team can convert most of his $35 million base salary into a bonus to bring the cap hit down.
As for the hypothetical trade, shipping off three first-round picks and a former top-10 selection in Daniel Jones is quite the price to pay. However, when it yields a superstar 25-year-old quarterback in return, you gladly accept the consequences.
With that said, the Giants have shown no signs of moving off of Jones this offseason, as all signs point towards the team sticking with him under center in 2021. While he may have failed to take a sophomore leap on the field this past year, Jones’ growth as a leader has won over the coaching staff and earned him (deserving or not) another chance to prove he’s the guy for Big Blue.
Could the Giants be kicking themselves for not making a move at the position a year early were Jones to falter this coming season? Absolutely, especially with names such as Watson, as well as Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff potentially on the move. However, it’s almost a certainty that the organization will let things play out the way things are currently constructed at the quarterback position.
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