Deshaun Watson to the Eagles trade rumors are nothing new. At the height of this offseason, when Watson trade rumors ran rampant, the Eagles were among the top teams most NFL analysts pointed to as a potential landing spot.
Among those analysts was the top NFL insider, Adam Schefter. On Wednesday morning, Schefter appeared on 97.5 The Fanatic to talk all things Birds. And without being prompted, Schefter brought up the possibility of Watson coming to Philly in the near future.
“The Eagles are more equipped to make a run at Deshaun Watson than any team out there,” Schefter stated. He was then asked about the ongoing allegations about Watson’s sexual assault, and he answered with:
Let’s see how it plays out first. But, again, what I would say is if there are charges and he gets imprisoned or something happens to that effect, something far-reaching and damaging and awful … like a lot of this stuff seems, then, yeah, well, it’s not happening. But I’m operating under the assumption somehow this will be settled, or he will serve his discipline for the league, or whatever punishment he has coming, whatever is fair and just, once that is done, I just think that at that point in time, whenever it is, when he is deemed ready to play by legal authorities, by the National Football League, to me, the Philadelphia Eagles should be waiting.”
To be clear, this is all speculation by Schefter. But, he was among the first to claim Carson Wentz wanted out of Philly, and we all know how that eventually played out.
There’s no NFL insider more connected than Schefter. Whenever he speculates on something, it’s usually because he’s been led to believe that from the sources he regularly talks to.
He’s absolutely right in saying there aren’t any other teams in the league more equipped to make a run at Watson than Philly. With potentially three first round picks in next years NFL Draft, and a handful of talent that could be unloaded, the Eagles could make this happen if they wanted to. Obviously, waiting out Watson’s legal battle is in the best interest of anyone involved in trade talks. And it makes it very unlikely that we see this trade happen before the 2021 season.
Looking at the current roster in Houston, it’s hard to believe they’ll be able to bounce back strongly enough to convince Watson to stay past this year. Which means trade talks can be revisited next offseason. The Eagles will be in a better position to assess this situation — both because of Watson’s current predicament, and because they’ll have an entire season to see what Jalen Hurts can do under center.
The best case scenario for Philly is Hurts taking a huge leap this season and cementing his status as a franchise quarterback. He’ll be on his rookie contract for a few more seasons after 2021 and the front office will have the added cap room to build a championship contender around Hurts.
Watson is one of the highest paid quarterbacks in football, and while he’s certainly worth it, we’ve seen how much trouble Howie Roseman had building a competent team trying to navigate a big quarterback contract.
We won’t have a conclusion to this Deshaun Watson saga anytime soon. And Eagles fans will be constantly reminded about the possibility of landing this All-Pro talent throughout the next year or so. Don’t be surprised if Schefter continues to speculate on this potential trade as the season goes on.
1 comment