The 49ers are finally working to join Deshaun Watson’s trade conversation after most of the first national reporter discussions revolved around the Dolphins and Jets. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported San Francisco is one of the teams that Watson found intriguing.
This does not necessarily mean that a deal is imminent, however, and the Texans are holding on to their willingness to let Watson stay out for the entire season in hopes of eventually saving their relationship with the franchise signal caller.
What can happen is a long standoff between the two sides, which lasts the entire season. If they decide to leave Watson, Peter King in his Football Morning in America column noted that this could happen in late September. This would be a scenario in which Houston runs out of roads before giving way.
Let’s go to a world where this happens and Houston starts receiving calls about QB in early September.
While this left Watson behind the curve with his new club, to the point where he was unable to start the season, it could make a heavy negotiating package easy for San Francisco to pull the trigger.
Assuming it includes at least three choices in the first round, there is a high likelihood that all of those choices are late selections, given what Watson would do for coach Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers attack. They would also have choice number 12 this year on the list and would not have to include it in that group of choices.
This would also make a team like the Jets or Dolphins less attractive to business partners, since they would no longer have the second and third options in this year’s draft – one of the main reasons they were nominated as possible business candidates.
The long wait would also be easier because of the 49ers’ willingness to stay with Jimmy Garoppolo. He is not the ideal defender, but they are also not eager to part with him. If they need to wait for Watson to become available, they can do so knowing that they have a signal caller that they feel comfortable with if the deal never goes through.
A name like Watson’s, even though it is rumored in the business market, will make him a story until he is running for Houston again or until he finally moves out. It looks like it might be a long wait in an eventual negotiation, but San Francisco is in a good position to wait and Watson is a potential commercial target that is worth waiting for.