Texans reportedly listening to trade offers for Watson; will Eagles pounce?

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As teams around the NFL report for training camp this week — the Eagles report Tuesday — there’s some notable news in the football world.

After initially scoffing at the idea of trading their franchise quarterback, the Texans are reportedly willing to listen to offers for Deshaun Watson.

That’s the latest from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport:

Three first-round picks, huh? I wonder if there’s a team in the NFL that might have three first-round picks in 2022. Oh yeah, the Eagles likely will if the second-rounder from the Carson Wentz trade turns into a first.

With this news coming out today, it seems like the Texans want it to be known that they’re only willing to deal their franchise quarterback for a very high price:

Obviously, we don’t know what the final price would be for a Watson trade. Nor do we know the resolution of the 22 civil lawsuits against Watson alleging sexual misconduct. (For now, Watson has not been placed on the commissioner’s exempt list.) This is obviously a major hurdle.

But here’s what we do know:

1. Watson doesn’t want to be in Houston. Before any of those allegations surfaced, the 25-year-old made it clear he did not want to return to the team that drafted him. The latest reports make it clear that despite reporting for training camp, this has not changed.

2. Watson is a special player. He won’t turn 26 until September and he has been a Pro Bowler in each of his last three seasons. In 2020, despite playing for a train wreck Texans team, he threw for over 4,800 yards with 33 touchdowns and just 7 interceptions and also ran for another 444 yards. He’s a great player entering the prime of his career.

3. The Eagles don’t appear to be completely sold on Jalen Hurts. For now, it appears that the 2020 second-round pick is their starter but we’ve heard plenty of reports and rumors that the organization isn’t all-in on the 22-year-old as their next franchise quarterback.

4. The Eagles have plenty of ammunition to acquire a player like Watson. In fact, there might not be another team better equipped to make a run. The Eagles solidly have two first-rounders next year and they’ll have a third if Carson Wentz either plays 75% of the Colts’ offensive snaps or 70% and the Colts make the playoffs.

5. Every team in the NFL cares about the quarterback position, but the Eagles take it to a new level. Even “QB factory” aside, the Eagles think the best way to build a winning team is to have an elite franchise quarterback and they’ve put major resources into the position in recent seasons.

6. Watson and the Eagles have been continually linked throughout this offseason. There has been a ton of smoke around the Eagles’ potentially entering the sweepstakes to acquire the Pro Bowler and two more examples surfaced on Monday.

From NBC Sports’ Peter King: I don’t know what will happen with Deshaun Watson, but I am from the Schefter school on this: The Eagles are likely to be in play when Houston trades him, assuming Houston does sometime before draft day 2022.”

From Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer: “I’ve got four teams marked down as ones to watch—Carolina, Denver, Miami and Philadelphia—and I believe all four are monitoring all this. The Dolphins have three first-rounders the next two years, and the Eagles will likely have three next year alone (so long as Carson Wentz stays healthy in Indy), and Carolina and Denver have interesting young players they could throw into trades.”

When the Eagles take the field for their first practice of the summer on Wednesday, all eyes will be on Hurts as he takes over as their starting quarterback. But the thought of Watson might be in the back of everyone’s minds too.

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