Deshaun Trade Demand: What It Means For Cowboys QB Dak

The Cowboys are actually listed at 20/1 in the Deshaun Watson trade sweepstakes. But there is a more interesting and realistic question related to 'Dak vs. Deshaun'

FRISCO - The moral to the Deshaun Watson story is that a team should never take its star for granted. Nor should it lie to him. And yes, that is a lesson the Dallas Cowboys should value at this moment, as Watson's trade demand to the Houston Texans has gone public.

In this space, we have gone through the exercise into the pretzel of events that would have to occur for the Cowboys to be among the teams that should chase Watson. The idea of tagging and then trading Dak for Deshaun is a too-tangled one ... though the debate of which QB is, in a vacuum, a superior one, is at least a fun bar-room brawl.

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Of course, Houston has created its own pretzel-like tangle.

Texans management has made a mess of its relationship with its MVP. Pushed by incompetent and dishonest management, it is his wish to have played his last snap for the team that drafted him No. 12 overall in 2017.

This buzz from a few weeks ago gave rise to the oddsmakers beginning to take bets on where Watson could land next — if indeed he is traded. According to SportsBetting.com, the Jets and Dolphins are the leading candidates for Watson's services, should he be dealt.

Were the Cowboys even listed? Indeed they are, at 20/1.

The top odds in the Watson trade sweepstakes include the New York Jets (2/1), Miami Dolphins (3/1), Chicago Bears (4/1) and the Denver Broncos (5/1). 

What will the Texans get in trading Watson? First, the idea remains almost unthinkable; they really simply have to repair what they've broken. The Texans may have had a forgettable season but are only a few months removed from giving Watson a four-year contract extension worth $156 million in new money. He got $73.716M fully guaranteed at signing, a big commitment to a QB who is at 25 every single thing a team is looking for in a franchise QB.

And everybody was happy.

That makes the behavior of Houston's front office all the more perplexing. Watson was told by the McNair family that he would have a hand in helping to select the Texans' next GM and head coach. But pushed by controversial exec Jack Easterby, owner Cal McNair forged ahead with moves that left Watson - who was to represent the locker room's view - out of the loop ... and now maybe wanting out of Houston.

Now Houston has hired David Culley as its new head coach. Watson may like Culley - but at this point not enough to keep him from trying to rush for the exit.

While Watson may be superior to Dak, even in that aforementioned "vacuum'' Prescott is a special player and person, the sort that a franchise can spend a decade fruitlessly searching for.

And that is the lesson of "value'' here. Once a team develops a relationship with a Deshaun Watson, it would be foolish to fail to nurture and build that relationship. The Cowboys have nurtured and built with free-agent-to-be Dak, well before last year's franchise tag, well before coming negotiations anew.

Once a team gets a Deshaun? Gotta keep him. Once a team gets a Dak? Gotta keep him. That, for Dallas and Dak, is moral of the Houston and Deshaun story. 

CONTINUE READING: BEER ME!: Cowboys QB Dak Signs Long-Term Deal - To Sell Bud Light