Getty Deshaun Watson #4 of the Houston Texans.
The Houston Texans are expected to trade Deshaun Watson very soon. The leading candidates to land the embattled quarterback are the Miami Dolphins, but don’t count out the Philadelphia Eagles from making a late push.
Watson has been rumored to be on their wish list for quite some time. According to Jeff Howe and Aaron Reiss of The Athletic, the Eagles were one of three teams to engage in “recent discussions” with Houston over Watson’s availability. The Dolphins and Carolina Panthers are the other two. The report doesn’t know the “seriousness” of those talks, saying they could have ranged from a “casual conversation to actual trade negotiations.”
Meanwhile, John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reported that the Dolphins and Texans were putting the finishing touches on a Watson trade. The timeline was thought to be as soon as Friday, October 22 as the two sides worked out compensation. One sticking point appeared to be Houston not being sold on taking Tua Tagovailoa in the deal.
Where do the Eagles fit in in all this? It’s tough to say what’s real. General manager Howie Roseman could just be dipping his toes in the water to jack up the asking price. Obviously Philadelphia would prefer Watson stays in the AFC and head to South Beach, rather than join a possible NFC contender like Carolina. Or maybe the Eagles do have genuine interest in Watson, the three-time Pro Bowler who faces 22 active civil lawsuits accusing of him sexual misconduct and sexual assault.
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Eagles Have Draft Assets to Acquire Watson
The asking price for Watson has long been valued at three first-round picks, plus another player or two. No team is positioned better to get a deal done than Philly. If the season ended prior to Week 7, the Eagles could offer them the No. 2 overall pick, the No. 8 overall pick, the No. 9 overall pick.
There are 11 more games to be played so that order is bound to change, but the fact they have so many assets to dangle out there has to be appealing for Houston. Miami only has one first-rounder next year, valued at No. 13 overall based on current standings; and Carolina has just one first-rounder, valued at No. 15.
Roseman Already Addressed Watson Rumors
Roseman has already addressed the Watson rumors on several occasions, most notably following the team’s trade for Gardner Minshew. The preseason had just ended and final roster cuts were on the horizon when he met with the Philly media to discuss their plans.
Roseman expressed satisfaction with the quarterbacks on the roster: Jalen Hurts, Joe Flacco, Minshew. He couldn’t mention Watson by name, due to NFL tampering rules, but he didn’t seem interested at the time.
“Yeah, I think we’re very confident and comfortable with the quarterbacks that we have on our roster. Any player that is on another team is property of that team, and we’re going forward with who we’ve got here,” Roseman said on August 31. “We’ll see what happens here in the next 24 hours with the rest of our roster, but when we talk about that quarterback room, we think we’ve got a good blend of youth, of experience, of talented guys, and we’re excited to start the season and to see the players that we have on this football team.”
Jeffery Lurie has “green-lighted” Howie Roseman to pursue a deal for DeShaun Watson if the opportunity arose, per @CSimmsQB.