Deshaun Watson has a no-trade clause within his contract, which means he has veto power over any destination the Houston Texans choose for him via a trade. Watson and the Texans are at odds, and the quarterback wants out. He is in a unique situation as, if the Texans grant his trade request, he can dictate where he goes.
While FS1 host Colin Cowherd recently shared reasons why he felt the 49ers might not be a good fit for Watson, he stated this week that San Francisco should be at the top of the quarterback's list of landing spots — and it's not even close.
"No. 1 would be San Francisco by a mile," Cowherd said. "They are, without Deshaun Watson, a top-five Super Bowl favorite next year. They just had bad injuries. They lost their quarterback. They are stacked, and they're not real happy with Jimmy Garoppolo. So in terms of, 'I just want to go to a team that can win,' they've got everything."
"In the history of the NFL, this does not happen."@ColinCowherd picks his Top 8 destinations for Deshaun Watson: pic.twitter.com/u9OXmKX3s6
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) January 28, 2021
Cowherd believes that the other teams on Watson's list should include the New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, the Washington Football Team, and Chicago Bears. But the FS1 host feels none of those teams would be as ideal a landing spot as San Francisco.
NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reported on Thursday that more than half the teams in the NFL had already reached out to the Texans to inquire about Watson's availability. You have to imagine that 49ers general manager John Lynch has at least made a call. Such a move would be expensive, though, when it comes to the compensation that San Francisco — or any interested team — would have to surrender.
Of course, there is no evidence that the 49ers have expressed interest in Watson — or any other quarterback — replacing Garoppolo. You have the chatter linking Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford to San Francisco. The rumors are reportedly dominating discussions this week at the Senior Bowl. Although, that's all they are at this point — rumors.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan had offered a vote in confidence that Garoppolo would be San Francisco's starting quarterback in 2021. If anything comes of all this speculation, that may not be set in stone.
