One of the biggest questions of the NFL season is around Deshaun Watson and where he will play in 2021. After spending the first four seasons of his career with the Texans, Watson made it clear he did not want to return to Houston for a fifth season. Not only did he request a trade, but also the name of the Texans from each of his social media profiles.
Although Nick Caserio, general manager of Texans, has insisted that his team will not trade Watson, the fact is that he may not have a choice. If Watson does leave Houston, it could be an interesting landing spot in Las Vegas with the Raiders.
Sure, the Raiders already have Derek Carr, but that’s something that could possibly change this off-season. An interesting report from the Las Vegas Review Journal this week suggested that quarterly teams around the NFL could call the Raiders to try to acquire Carr, and if that happened, the Raiders could turn around and wrap the compensation out of the Carr trade with more compensation in a possible deal for Watson.
So can Watson end up in Las Vegas?
In what can only be described as a random timing, Gruden conducted an interview the day after the report of the Review Journal came out. The Raiders coach joined him on the “Cris Collinsworth Podcast with Richard Sherman” this week and he had some interesting things to say about Watson. During a conversation that began with the discussion of the three guys about the Matthew Stafford deal that sent Jared Goff and two first rounds to Detroit, Gruden was asked what kind of compensation it might take to land Watson.
“You know, that’s a great question. I personally consider it a fantasy world here,” Gruden said. ‘They have a new GM [Nick Caserio] in Houston coming from New England, he only spent a year in New England without Tom Brady. I think he has a good idea how important Deshaun Watson is to the Texans. ‘
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Basically, Gruden does not think the Texans will want to give up their franchise quarterback, and if they do for some reason, it’s going to take an absurd amount of first-round to loosen him up.
“I do not think there is a way in the world where they trade Deshaun Watson. If they did, the compensation would be similar to the Rams; you will have to give up seven number passes, you will never set up again. “Gruden said.”
An interesting thing about Gruden mentioning that it will take seven first laps to land Watson is that the Review Journal suggested that the Raiders might be willing to give up four. If Vegas could get two first-class players for Carr, they would offer the two two more firsts to land Watson.
Despite the reported interest, Gruden continued to insist that he thinks Watson will stay in Houston.
“I just think there’s a lot going on,” Gruden said. “Deshaun is a great player, he’s a great kid and I’m sure he’s very emotional right now, for a number of reasons on and off the field. I have a lot of confidence in him that he’s going to be a good quarterback. for a long time in Houston. He has already signed the contract, and he will be a big part of the rebuilding. “
If Watson does not end up in Las Vegas, he will end up somewhere else and if you want to check a list of 13 possible landing places for the Texans fullback, click here.