Could the Eagles Still be in the Mix For Deshaun Watson?

Its barely even November and Eagles fans can tell it’s going to be one of those seasons. One of those seasons that the Birds have surprisingly haven’t had many of over the past two decades as much as we complain about them. 2005 was one, following the Super Bowl hangover and T.O.’s circus offseason the team was not prepared for competition. 2011 and 2012 were like that after the Dream Team experiment quickly went down in flames. Chip Kelly’s last year in 2015 was pretty miserable and exposed his incompetence. And finally in 2020 the key members everyone thought were going to be around for a decade also flamed out.

2021 so far has been one of those years as so far it looks like Jalen Hurts is not the quarterback of the future nor is Nick Sirianni the coach of the future. In this lost season that looks like a semi-tank job, the most winning the Eagles are doing is seeing the Miami Dolphins go down spectacularly. They are also winning by Carson Wentz staying on the field and playing well enough for the Colts to give them a 1st round pick.

So with next year being clearly more important and their draft capital becoming more valuable, why not go all the way and push our chips for the most prized quarterback on the market? That quarterback not being one of the draft prospects coming out of college, but Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.

Obviously despite Watson’s youth and immense talent, he has a ton of pending lawsuits he’s dealing with involving massage therapists. Both him and the Texans seek a divorce amongst this scandal and he likely won’t be able to play until the cases are settled and he serves a lengthy suspension.

There is also the fact that with the big contract he initially signed with the Texans, there is a no-trade clause which allows him to approve or veto any trade offer from teams. And reports have said that he doesn’t want to play in Philly.

So with these reports out that Watson isn’t interested at the moment, it is going to take a lot more convincing from Howie and company in order for him to buy in. It could be because he saw how Carson Wentz quit on the Birds for a variety of reasons and doesn’t wanna join a team that often struggles at drafting skill position players.

It could also be because he prefers to play for the two teams who are the front-runners in the Watson sweepstakes: The Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers. Both teams have a young quarterback who have not been working out and both have owners who have a high desire for a franchise quarterback.

From these reports it’s clear that the Eagles would love to have Watson once all the legal issues clear away. And if he were traded to Philly it would take a bit for the public backlash involving his allegations. It’s up for him to go out there when he’s able and perform at a high level in order to win his critics over.

If Jeffrey Lurie and Roseman want to revive faith in the fanbase that has gradually declined since Super Bowl LII, getting a talent like Watson would certainly spark their interest. The trade deadline is November 2nd and the bidders for Watson will be coming over the next week. Howie should absolutely push his chips to the table and make his case for why he should join the Birds.

 

By Mike McCarrick | November 1, 2021
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