NFL
The Eagles Must Fight the Tempting Urge to Pay a Historic Price for Deshaun Watson
Writing professionally since 2015, Jack Dougherty spent six years as a sportswriter with publications such as GoPSUSports.com, the Centre Daily Times, and the Associated Press before joining Sportscasting in 2020. He covers the NBA, the NFL, and the world of golf extensively and has added expertise on any team located in or around his hometown of Philadelphia. Yes, that includes the Philadelphia Eagles, the Philadelphia 76ers, and Philadelphia Phillies. When Jack isn't writing about sports, he's watching them or playing them as he regularly heads to the gym for some pickup basketball or the golf course to hit the links. He's also an avid participant in the sports betting scene who worked at a casino sportsbook for a year and learned the ins and outs of the industry before bringing his expertise to Sportscasting with one excellent gambling recommendation after another.
All posts by Jack DoughertyUpdated26 Jul 2021
Deshaun Watson‘s days in Houston seem to be numbered, and a few teams are now interested in trading for the disgruntled quarterback. One of those teams happens to be the Philadelphia Eagles, who would otherwise be rolling into the 2021 season with Jalen Hurts as their starter.
Although the idea of adding a superstar like Watson to the roster is a tempting one, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman must fight the urge to make a deal for a QB who would be much more trouble than he’s worth.
Texans lay out their asking price for Deshaun Watson
Watson has endured the most scrutinized offseason of any player in the NFL not named Aaron Rodgers. He started it off with a bang by requesting a trade from the Houston Texans almost as soon as the 2020 regular season ended. A few months later, sexual misconduct allegations from 22 different women started to roll in, making Watson’s NFL future even murkier than before.
The troubling legal issues surrounding Watson still haven’t been cleared up, but the dilemma regarding his next NFL team might be soon.
On Monday morning, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported on Twitter that the Texans have been listening to trade offers for their star quarterback. It could be just a matter of days — or even hours — before Watson is on the move.
And what would the Texans like in return? In short, a whole lot.
“For Deshaun Watson, the @Texans price has been some combination of 5 high draft picks and starting caliber players, per two league executives,” Chris Mortensen of ESPN tweeted Monday.
That would be a historic haul for the Texans if any team is brazen enough to give them what they want. It would be up there with the Minnesota Vikings dealing five players and six draft picks to the Dallas Cowboys for Herschel Walker in 1989.
Well, maybe not quite that idiotic.
The Eagles must fight the tempting urge to pay up for Watson
According to Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, the four teams in on the Watson sweepstakes are the Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins, and Philadelphia Eagles. But one of those teams might be in the early lead to land the 25-year-old star.
Howard Eskin, an NFL reporter and host for 94 WIP and Fox 29 in Philadelphia, appeared on the SportsRadio 94 WIP Midday Show last week and had this to say about the Eagles’ chances of landing Watson: “Based on the information that I got, when — and I’ll say when — he is traded, I think there is a 90% chance that he will be with the Philadelphia Eagles.”
Philly fans all rejoiced in unison when Eskin dropped that bomb on the city, but they need to pump the brakes a bit.
Trading for Watson right now would be a death sentence for the Eagles due to the lingering legal issues surrounding the QB. He’s currently facing more than 20 civil lawsuits from women alleging sexual misconduct, and every single one of them seems to be telling the same story. The chances of that being just a coincidence or a well-planned smear campaign against Watson might be lower than zero.
This worrisome situation will most likely be resolved with settlements from Watson and his legal team. It’s highly unlikely Watson sees any jail time stemming from these accusations, so he should be eligible to return to the NFL once the lawsuits are settled.
But that won’t change the fact that Watson was — maybe fairly — labeled a “serial predator” by one of the women who filed a lawsuit against the QB. If the Eagles fork over a historic haul to make that guy the face of the franchise, they’ll face much bigger problems than making sure Watson memorizes the playbook by Week 1.
Jalen Hurts deserves a shot
Aside from Watson’s legal saga, the Eagles owe it to Jalen Hurts to give him the opportunity to become the franchise quarterback moving forward. There’s a reason Roseman and company drafted Hurts in the second round last summer when Carson Wentz was still on the roster. Now, he has a full season to prove the selection was a wise one.
Hurts is an exceptional athlete who can escape pressure with ease and make positive plays out of nothing. He has a big arm, he isn’t afraid to take shots down the field, and he’s a proven winner from every stop throughout his football career.
Sounds a lot like the dude the Eagles are interested in trading for, huh?
The only differences? Hurts is already under contract and still on his rookie deal, leaving the Eagles plenty of room to improve the roster elsewhere over the next few years. He’s also three years younger than Watson. And, oh yeah, he doesn’t have 22 women accusing him of being a sexual predator.
Hurts has the potential to become a star in the NFL, but the Eagles won’t be able to find that out unless they give him the keys to the franchise this season.
Howie Roseman — save your money, save your future assets, and most importantly, save your reputation by passing on Watson.
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