Photo courtesy of the San Francisco 49ers
In the end, it may be that the San Francisco 49ers – or any other interested NFL team – could offer Houston Texans to quarterback Deshaun Watson. Yes, Watson has a no-trade clause in his contract. If he pressured the Texans to negotiate, the defender would at least have the power to approve his fate.
The split between Watson and the Texans has created an interesting off-season so far, at least for teams that don’t participate in postseason games. The young defender would be considered an upgrade for most teams that watch the home playoffs. San Francisco 49ers fans should wonder what kind of magic Kyle Shanahan could do with Watson leading his charge.
It could also make the 49ers such an attractive destination for Watson – the presence of Shanahan. Yes, the influence of the head coach is starting to spread across the league, as more teams seek to recreate the same kind of creative game that Shanahan players always praise and opposing defenses work to prevent. Other teams may be tempting bait, but 49ers have something that no other can offer.
Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr recently ranked the top 10 landing sites for Watson (h / t for Patrick Tulini), assuming that Texans dig in and receive offers from the quarterback. While the New York Jets, armed with a plethora of recruiting capital, occupy the top spot on the list, the 49ers are surprisingly at the top of the second place. Much of this has to do with the head coach and the interlocutor.
“While writing this offseason, there is no greater disadvantage for quarterbacks who want to win than Kyle Shanahan himself,” wrote Orr. “While his system is now responsible for coaches and coordinators across the NFL (Arthur Smith in Atlanta, Matt LaFleur in Green Bay, Sean McVay in Los Angeles, etc., etc.), the man himself can get more out of the defenders and the design plays with the incredible YAC potential.
“Since Watson has a trade ban clause, he can guide any potential trade negotiations and if he takes a stable culture and formidable weapon set seriously, San Francisco has to be there.”
Of course, the 49ers don’t have the same stock of draft choices as some other teams, and taking Watson out of the Texans would likely require years of senior selections. Orr mistakenly notes that the 49ers are losing a choice in the third round, but that has recently changed with the Jets signing Robert Saleh as head coach. San Francisco will receive a compensatory choice for the third round during each of the next two drafts, as part of the NFL minority hiring program.
Still, this choice will be at the end of the round, after other compensatory choices from the third round are delivered. The 49ers could also offer a temporary (or perhaps permanent) replacement for Watson – Jimmy Garoppolo. Like Watson, Garoppolo has a no-trade clause in his contract, yet he must approve any move.
“Jimmy Garoppolo is an interesting piece of that equation, given that the human resources executive who helped lead his newsroom in New England is now in charge in Houston,” adds Orr. “This can help to relieve the pain of any exchange, as Garoppolo can enter a family setting and immediately still be one of the best defenders in the division.”
The relationship between the Houston Texans and their star quarterback, Deshaun Watson, seems to have gone sour. The quarterback may have reached a breaking point and may contemplate a negotiation request if the situation does not improve. Of course, this launched a flurry of speculation and commerce scenarios on social media, mainly by fans who believe their teams should be on the phones immediately trying to make some kind of deal with the Texans. This includes fans of the San Francisco 49ers, who, according to recent research, may be willing to sacrifice the future for the chance to add a dynamic player like Watson. ESPN’s Adam Schefter said that Watson’s level of anger after a
At the beginning of the week, six teams – including the Houston Texans – had a better chance than the San Francisco 49ers of having Deshaun Watson as a starting defender for Week 1 of the 2021 season. Now, only two teams – still including the Texans – are ahead of coach Kyle Shanahan’s team, according to the evaluators. The relationship between Watson and the Texans turned sour. The quarterback is frustrated that he was not included in the main decisions, although the team indicated that he was.
Last week, Steve Young said he would be willing to negotiate several first-round draft choices for Deshaun Watson if he was making the decisions for the San Francisco 49ers. “He is, without a joke, one of the best defenders in the league,” Young told KNBR. “… He is about to be one of the greats of the generation and has already proved that he can handle it.” Another Hall of Fame player and ex-Niner, Jerry Rice, joined 95.7 the game on Monday