Well the NFL has themselves quite the situation with quarterback Deshaun Watson becoming available after not being charged with criminal charges for sexual assault. One of the league’s best quarterbacks, a generational talent, when he’s playing. After not playing in over a year, the quarterback has become available and is ready to start his next chapter on a new team.
Watson created trade buzz prior to his allegations, now almost every team will be targeting or looking into Watson. Each team will be evaluating Watson’s worth and what they believe it would take to get him in the building without decimating the team’s roster.
With free agency and the new league year looming right around the corner on March 16th, I would expect a trade for Watson to go down prior to Wednesday. Having quarterback needs isn’t something to mess around with, so someone is gonna go all out and get Watson prior to the new league year, so that they don’t have to worry about quarterback during free agency. What comes along with Watson is a $35M cap hit, which a lot of teams are gonna have to clear space for (Saints current cap space/tracker).
So, what does Deshaun Watson becoming available mean for the Saints? Are they interested? What would it take? Is it even possible?
First things first, the Saints have been linked to teams interested in Deshaun Watson. Which is surprising due to the fact that the Saints have a female owner and with Watson’s allegations it seems like an overall uncomfortable situation that they would stay away from.
To go off that, when the Saints get linked or rumored to a player, the Saints are always linked to that player. Those rumors are usually true, so the Saints are interested in Watson, just a matter of can they get something done to get him.
What would a trade for Watson look like for the Saints? The Texans have an asking price of three 1st round picks at least, plus more assets. Possibly some more picks and some players, definitely a bigger deal than the Russell Wilson trade.
An offer that we could see from the Saints could include: three 1sts, two 2nds, a player (likely Taysom Hill), another player (let’s say David Onyemata), and probably one more asset (player or pick). That is likely a trade the Saints offer, or something similar to that.
Players I think would be off limits for the Saints include Alvin Kamara, Michael Thomas, Marshon Lattimore, Chauncey Gardner Johnson, Cam Jordan, and Demario Davis. Ryan Ramczyk I would say is leaning more towards the off the table list, but his name could be thrown around.
The Saints do have a few things going their way in terms of a trade. The first thing being Watson’s no trade clause. Watson will talk to general managers, coaches and see what is the best fit for him. If there’s a team he doesn’t want to go to then he won’t go there due to his no trade clause.
The Saints I believe look like a pretty sweet situation if I’m Watson. They have Michael Thomas coming back, you got Alvin Kamara, a top 5 defense, and a team that is ready to build around the quarterback position the best way they can.
Another thing the Saints have going for them is the fact that the Texans and the Saints have been buddies in terms of trades. Mark Ingram and Bradley Roby were sent over from Houston to New Orleans just this past season. So, the two parties definitely have a good bond more so than other teams. Could be a good situation for the Saints.
One final thing the Saints have going for them, is the fact that they’re a NFC team. The Texans don’t wanna trade Watson to a team that’ll be competing with them more often than not. Trading Watson to the NFC means the Texans only see him once every four years guaranteed, maybe another time in between.
Now while trading for Deshaun sounds like the move of a lifetime, there are quite a bit of downsides to it. The first one being compensation.
The Saints would be giving up a lot to get Watson, and would have very little to build around him. No first round picks or second round picks to get a wide receiver. Cap space would be tight and free agency would be more boring than last offseason. And by trading away some players the team is left with more needs than they were prior to the trade.
The most critical thing is his actions, he has 22 sexual assault allegations on him. That follows him wherever he goes, there’s no guarantee either that he won’t do it again wherever he ends up. It’s a risky situation to get yourselves into if you’re any of the NFL teams interested in Watson.
So would all this trouble be worth it for a team like the Saints? I would say so. The core of the team would still be in play and they can still draft guys like Wan’Dale Robinson in the third round or possibly get Will Fuller in the building. There’s very minimal room for building around Watson, but enough to stay a competitive team.
Personally I’m in the middle. I’d be enthusiastic if the Saints ended up with Watson cause the team would be set for a while. However on the other hand there’s always going to be a sense that this dude could get more allegations or more stuff can come out down the line. I got mixed feelings about it.
For those who want to know the Saints options at quarterback in the case that Watson isn’t the quarterback here’s some ideas.
Jameis Winston is obviously the front runner and right behind him is Teddy Bridgewater. Then there’s Mitchell Trubisky or Marcus Mariota who will be available in free agency. Then in terms of trades, the Saints could be interested in Jimmy G or possibly call about Jordan Love. For more details about that click this link.
Time will tell who the Saints end up with at quarterback, and it better be soon; the new league year is just about to start.
Written by Kadin Janisch
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