By Jordan Long
Rumors are swirling that Houston Texans’ quarterback Deshaun Watson is unhappy with the team. Watson thought he would be part of the hiring process for both the general manager and Head Coach for the franchise. That isn’t happening yet. Watson could be on the move, but he has yet to demand a trade. The Denver Broncos might be a team interested in the quarterback.
The Broncos are still searching for their franchise quarterback. They haven’t had one since Peyton Manning retired after winning Super Bowl 50. They may have it in Drew Lock but his career to this point has been up and down. Lock is 8-10 as a starter, passing for 3,953 yards and 24 touchdowns.
The problem with Lock is he tries to force the ball downfield and those passes are way over the head of his intended receiver. He will also look at where he wants to throw the ball and the defensive backs watch his eyes for easy interceptions with 18. Lock is still young and has plenty of time to grow in the NFL. Depending on who Denver hires as General Manager, they may want to improve the quarterback play.
If Watson is available Denver might think about it. Watson is 28-25 as a starter in Houston. He passed for 14,539 yards, 104 touchdowns, and 36 interceptions. The best part of Watsons’ game is his ability to scramble and buy time to throw the football. He will use his legs to gain yards once the pocket breaks down. He ran for 1,677 yards and 17 touchdowns in his career. The Texans advanced to the playoffs twice with him. The furthest they went is the Divisional Round.
Realistically though, the Broncos need to pump the breaks on acquiring Watson. Sure he improves the quarterback position, but it would take a trade to acquire him. Denver probably would need to send the Texans draft picks which maybe are a 1st round this year and next year plus middle round draft picks for the next few years as well as 2nd round picks. They also might add a couple of players on the roster, a high price for Watson.
The other difficulty with trading for Watson is his cap hit. Watson’s cap space is around $15.9 million for next year, $40.4 million in 2022, and $42.4 million in 2023, a lot of money for Denver to take on. It wouldn’t be worth it for the Broncos. The reason that cap hit hurts is it could prevent Denver from trying to improve other positions. It is possible for Denver to try to talk to him to have the cap space lowered.
Denver is better off looking at the free agent market. Most quarterbacks aren’t going to cost as much as Watson. They need a veteran to push Lock to earn the starting position. They also have other places to improve the team including linebacker, defensive back, and offensive line. The Broncos’ next general manager will do what is best for the team, but acquiring Watson should not be a move made this offseason.
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