This has been a mess of an offseason for the Houston Texans. Team representatives repeatedly stated that they have no intention of trading disgruntled quarterback Deshaun Watson. Watson has stated that he has no desire to play for Houston anymore. Texans brass has even reportedly ignored calls from interested teams.
Was that all a ploy, though? John McCain of the Houston Chronicle believes so. Of course, everything changed when legal issues caused Watson's trade value to plummet, and Houston lost any advantage it might have had in trade discussions.
Watson is currently facing 22 civil suits accusing him of sexual harassment and assault, along with an NFL investigation.
The San Francisco 49ers were reportedly interested in Watson—before the accusations surfaced. That was already known. Seven other teams were also interested, per McCain. They were the New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, Chicago Bears, and Washington Football Team.
Since then, the 49ers have traded multiple first-round picks—possibly the same draft capital they had earmarked for Watson—to move up to the No. 3 overall selection.
"The Texans' plan was to get the most serious teams into a bidding war before general manager Nick Caserio — with Cal McNair's approval — accepted the best offer that, ideally, would have included at least three first-round picks, two second-round picks and a defensive starter," McCain wrote on Monday.
San Francisco surrendered three first-round picks and a third-rounder for Miami's No. 3 slot (this year's first-rounders can be considered a swap, though). Would turning that third-rounder into a second-rounder and adding a defensive player have been viewed as too much? It depends on who that player might have been.
Maybe the 49ers could have convinced the Texans to take someone else.
"Would 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan have been willing to give up more for Watson, a proven quarterback coming off three consecutive Pro Bowls and an ideal fit for San Francisco's system?" wrote McCain.
"Shanahan and general manager John Lynch would have tried to include quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in the trade. Caserio was the Patriots' director of player personnel when they selected Garoppolo in the second round in 2014, but we don't know what he thinks of Jimmy G. today."
Of course, none of this matters now for the Niners. They have moved on from Watson, as has the fanbase, and are focused on selecting their quarterback of the future on Thursday night.
H/t to Patrick Tulini for the find.
