Only 8 Teams Should Not Consider Trading for Deshaun Watson

When a potential trade report surfaces, there’s an unwritten rule that we must all name the teams that make sense for the player on the move. That’s the norm.

Deshaun Watson is not the norm.

When was the last time a trade could include a 25-year-old franchise-changing QB, who just finished a season with a 70% completion percentage? For Watson, the question is not which teams should consider trading for him, it is which teams should not.

Former players Dan Orlovsky and Geoff Schwartz argued the list is small, ranging from just four to six teams.

Since Dan made his list…The teams who shouldn't call for Watson are simple for me.

KC
Sea
Gb
Buffalo

— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) January 17, 2021

There’s 6 teams IMO that shouldn’t be calling Houston
KC
Sea
TB
Buff
LAC
GB

Everyone else should make the call

— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) January 17, 2021

I’m going to extend the list with a few more teams. First, let’s eliminate the obvious: the Chiefs and Packers. I could get technical with contracts or just say the names Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers. Are we good?

Rodgers and Mahomes, in that order, are the best and second-best QBs in the NFL. Josh Allen is third. Thus, the Bills are also included in the limited list.

Watson is either the fourth- or fifth-best current QB, depending on Russell Wilson’s ranking. In either case, Seattle isn’t making the move.

The Chargers and Bengals aren’t logical fits either. Whether Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert are ultimately better than Watson or not, the two teams have their guys and aren’t trading away capital to replace them after one year.

Arizona has Kyler Murray, so they don’t need Watson either.

With the first pick in the draft, the Jags are better off drafting Trevor Lawrence on a rookie deal than sending its built-up draft assets for Watson. So we can also eliminate them from Watson contention.

The Chiefs, Packers, Bills, Seahawks, Chargers, Bengals, Cardinals and Jags are the only eight teams that should not call for Watson. That’s it. Watson is that special.

Tampa Bay and Baltimore won’t try for him, but they should. Watson is better than both Tom Brady and Lamar Jackson. Tampa has the mystique of the G.O.A.T. and Baltimore thinks Jackson is on Watson’s level, but he’s not. Expect these teams to miss out on a great opportunity.

There are at least five teams that Watson could turn into Super Bowl contenders next season: Colts, Bears, 49ers, Dolphins, and Steelers. Of course, many of these teams have no hope of landing Watson, no matter what they say. The Texans are going to demand the house, and Watson has a no-trade clause that he won’t waive for a bad fit. It could be decades before we see another a QB of this caliber on the market because of an “unsalvageable” situation.

My message to most of the NFL: start dreaming, calling, offering, and convincing.