For the past week or so, rumors about the Eagles’ interest in Pro Bowl quarterback Deshaun Watson have surfaced from multiple sources.
It was first reported by Jason La Canfora, who suggested the Eagles were a “strong suitor” for Watson. While most of us, including myself, scoffed at the notion that Watson would even consider coming to Philly, Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane then confirmed on Friday of last week that the Eagles did actually reach out to Houston about their disgruntled quarterback.
Other reporters have also thrown their hat into the Watson to Philly rumor mill, most notably Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson, who reported that the Eagles were one of several teams with serious interest in the quarterback. The list goes on.
There are obviously a few variables when discussing any trade involving Deshaun Watson. First and foremost, Watson’s ongoing legal struggle with sexual harassment charges is going to loom over any decision made on the quarterback. There are currently seven lawsuits filed, five more on the horizon, and possibly 10 more coming after that.
On top of that, the Eagles don’t necessarily have the cap room this year to take on Watson’s contract, not to mention the absurd amount of assets they’ll have to give up to acquire him.
The likelihood of a Watson trade is still slim to none for the Eagles, but their interest alone tells us a little bit about where Howie Roseman’s head’s at on his quarterback situation.
A few weeks ago it was reported that Jeffrey Lurie instructed Roseman to move forward with Jalen Hurts as the quarterback and to spend this offseason putting pieces around the young signal caller. Since those reports, everything Roseman has said has contradicted those assertions.
In his press conference with Nick Sirianni last Wednesday, neither Roseman or Sirianni committed to Hurts as the day one starter. The day prior during an interview with the Eagles web site, Roseman didn’t rule out drafting a quarterback at No. 6 overall, stating, “We won’t put a cap on what we’re going to do at that position.”
Here’s an excerpt from Roseman during his Wednesday presser when asked about his quarterback situation:
Like Coach said, and he reminds me daily, we only have one quarterback on our roster, so it’s definitely not going to stay that way. And we’ve always tried to value that position and to have depth at that position, and I don’t see any of that changing here as we go forward. That’s nothing that we would be comfortable with. We want to have a really strong quarterback room. We feel like we have incredible coaches on the offensive and defensive side of the ball who can maximize quarterback play and so we’re going to look at the free agent market, we’re going to look at the trade market, and we’re certainly going to look at the draft to try to strengthen that position.”
Via Philly Voice
That last snippet is where we should focus in on, “And we’re certainly going to look at the draft to try and strengthen that position.” It doesn’t sound like Howie, and even the coaching staff, is completely sold on Hurts as the starter just yet. And quite frankly, they shouldn’t be.
I wrote about this a bit more extensively a few weeks back, but when you’re in a position to take one of the premiere quarterbacks in the draft and you’re not 100% satisfied with the quarterbacks on your roster, you take the quarterback.
If Justin Fields falls to six, which is certainly a possibility, the Eagles should strongly consider taking him. He has all the tools that Hurts does and then some. Based on what we’ve heard from Roseman this past week, we shouldn’t be shocked if this is the direction they decide to go in.
Above all else, the quarterback position is the most important area for any football team. If this organization feels like they can upgrade that position — and it’s pretty clear they do — then by all means, do whatever it takes to get your future franchise quarterback.
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