HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610) - The Detroit Lions got a haul for Matthew Stafford in a blockbuster trade with the Rams over the weekend. How does that trade affect the Texans when it comes to a potential Deshaun Watson trade? The SportsRadio 610 hosts break it down.
Seth Payne: “Before they traded for Matt Stafford, the Rams asked the Packers if they’d be interested in trading Aaron Rodgers. I’m guessing they asked the Texans about Deshaun Watson, too. If the Rams did ask, and the offer was anything similar to the Stafford trade, the Texans passed the first and easiest test of the off-season.”
Sean Pendergast: "I’d caution any Texans fan in thinking the Stafford trade is a DIRECT indicator of what the Texans should expect as comparative value for Watson, who is better and younger than Stafford and should thus yield a better package of assets. However, making it happen to where the package is worth considering is MUCH easier said than done."
Landry Locker: “The haul Detroit got for Matthew Stafford is unique because the Rams were in a tough spot with Goff and had to pay a hefty price to get out of that situation. See: The Texans having to send a 2nd rounder to Cleveland in 2017 along with Brock Osweiler to get Cleveland to bail them out of the Osweiler Era.
The Stafford trade impacts the Texans potential return for Watson because the situations are different, but it does show that teams are willing to pay A LOT to upgrade at their QB situation. This is a massive opportunity for Nick Caserio.”
John Lopez: “If the Texans are smart (insert pithy one-liner here), they can turn the huge Lions draft haul from the Rams into a draft windfall. Apples-to-apples, Deshaun Watson absolutely should bring at least an additional first-rounder and a starting veteran defender. There are, however, different ways to interpret exactly why the Rams gave up so much. And rest assured, the Texans' potential trade partner will bring it up. The Rams paid a premium price because the Lions also took on Jared Goff's hefty salary. That's where things are significantly different. Still, the Lions' haul should be the floor of what the Texans receive for Watson.”
Clint Stoerner: “The Stafford / Goff trade set the bar & put quarterback-needy teams on notice. The Texans should move Deshaun ASAP & get a Herschel Walker kind of haul (minus the conditionals) when they do. The opportunity for Texans GM Nick Caserio to fix two major problems (draft capital & cap issues) and start with a clean slate is something that's going to be difficult for him to pass on.
There are two teams with enough 2021 draft capital to start the conversation and the Texans should be in talks with both. They’ve got to be proactive, the longer they wait, the more QBs move, the fewer teams have a need. The only way the Texans screw this up is if they refuse to face the reality that Deshaun is done in Houston and try to play hardball beyond the 2021 draft.”
Ron “The Show” Hughley: “Wow! Who would ever imagine that Stafford was worth that much!? Nothing for the Texans is too much to demand.
Watson in every way from talent, age and his off-the-field presence is on another level than Stafford. The biggest concern is still the same group that allowed the Texans to be in this position now have to trade a player that no one internally wants to trade.”
Wade Smith: “Quarterback swaps are pretty rare in the NFL, so the fact that this trade went down, along with the other reported potential moves around the league, suggests a 'New Day' in Franchise QB movement. It gives Texans fans some real-time insight on what a Deshaun Watson type-quarterback can garner in a trade, and for the discerning eye, may sway a significant amount of non-believers, to buy into sending Deshaun away to rebuild a roster that is in dire need of a talent influx.”