The Eagles are continuing to monitor a potential trade for Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, according to a report from the Houston Chronicle.
The report, via Texans reporter Aaron Wilson, reads:
Several NFL teams, including the Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins, are monitoring the latest Watson legal developments, which have complicated any efforts to trade for him. The Texans, according to sources, haven't engaged in trade discussions and have been in more of a listening mode as they concentrate on overhauling their roster following a 4-12 season.
The Eagles keeping an eye on Watson isn’t surprising, as they have now been linked to him in multiple reports throughout the offseason. The team prioritizes the quarterback situation, and at just 25-years old, Watson is one of the best in the league.
Watson, however, is currently dealing with 22 civil lawsuits alleging sexual assault and sexual harassment from a group of female massage therapists. That is obviously a huge factor in any team making a move for Watson. If the Eagles do get serious in any potential trade, they would have to be sure they are comfortable with acquiring Watson and making him the face of their franchise.
Is a Watson-to-Eagles deal actually possible?
Financially it would be tough to pull off, but is possible. Watson has a base salary of $10.5 million in 2021. The Eagles don’t have much cap space as of right now, but could very easily open the money needed to acquire Watson in a few different ways. They could trade Derek Barnett to open the $10 million. They could trade Zach Ertz to open around $5 million. They could restructure the contracts of Lane Johnson or Fletcher Cox to open up a huge amount of space, potentially as much has $15-20 million combined if they wanted.
The Eagles have plenty of cap space in the 2022 season and beyond, when Watson’s salary jumps to $35 million in 2022 and then back down to $20 million in 2023. They could also re-do Watson’s deal in a trade, something the quarterback would likely welcome considering he is trying to get out of Houston.
Would Jalen Hurts stop them from doing a deal? A report emerged earlier this offseason that Lurie wanted to build around Hurts, but that would seem to conflict with this report, which states ownership might be the driving force behind making a deal happen.
It is pretty simple — if the Eagles believe in Hurts, they will not trade for Watson. If they don’t, then they have a massive need at quarterback, and Watson is obviously a great solution if they can pull it off.
If Lurie wants Watson, chances are the Eagles will pull off the deal to make it happen — they have the money, they would have the need (if they don’t believe in Hurts) and they have the draft capital with the No. 12 pick in this year’s draft and potentially three first-round picks in 2022.
Whether they make a move for Watson remains to be seen, but as the reports continue to build linking them to the Texans quarterback, it is clear it is something they are at least considering.