5 Reasons Why a Deshaun Watson to the Jaguars Trade Wouldn’t Make Sense

Deshaun Watson is an elite quarterback who hasn't even hit the peak of his career, but for once the Jaguars shouldn't be in the conversation to acquire a star passer. Here are a few reasons why.

Sooner than later, it looks as if Deshaun Watson will be on his way out of the AFC South. 

The momentum for Watson forcing his way out of Houston has been building for the last several months, and perhaps even longer than that, but it reached its absolute peak on Thursday when it was officially reported that Watson had requested the Texans to trade him.

Deshaun Watson officially has requested a trade from the Houston Texans, per league sources. He actually did it weeks ago. Their new head-coaching hire, David Culley, has not and will not alter Watson’s thinking.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 28, 2021

When looking at Watson's pure talent mixed with his youth, there are 30 teams that could upgrade their current quarterback position by calling Houston and trading for Watson. The Kansas City Chiefs are the only team who can say they are currently better off at quarterback.

But even despite Watson being a franchise quarterback coming off his best season, there are still reasons to think the Jaguars shouldn't be involved in any kind of Watson deal ... even if he would still present a considerable upgrade to their quarterback room.

The Jaguars currently hold the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. That pick would obviously go a long way in any discussion to acquire Watson, while Watson himself is an established elite talent as opposed to being an unknown prospect. 

But while Watson would be the most talented passer in Jaguars history from the day he walked into the stadium, there are reasons why the Jaguars are one of the few teams who wouldn't be able to make a Watson trade make sense. Here are a few. 

The Jaguars are already in a prime position to acquire a potential franchise quarterback without giving up any assets

A big reason so many nationally have been so adamant about Jacksonville's hopeful future is their assets. They have 11 draft picks in 2021, which includes two picks in each of the first two rounds and five picks within the top 65. For example, only seven teams have made five picks within the first 65 selections since 2000. That kind of draft capital doesn't come around often. 

So, would giving those assets up be worth it if it meant acquiring a franchise quarterback? The short answer is yes, but there are more layers to it than that. For example, the Jaguars are in the extremely rare position of being able to acquire a potential franchise quarterback without giving anything up. They already hold the No. 1 overall pick and the right to draft Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Almost no other team in the NFL can say that they can get a quarterback of that quality without trading away something of high value. The Jaguars simply aren't in the position to trade for a quarterback when they can find one with their own pick. 

In the past year or so, we have seen a cornerback dealt for two first-round picks and a fourth, as well as a safety with limited coverage ability traded for two first-round picks and a starting defender. Watson is infinitely more valuable than either Jalen Ramsey or Jamal Adams, so there is no reason to think it wouldn't take an all-time lucrative trade package to acquire him. 

There is no reason for the Jaguars to essentially bail the Texans out

Houston is in the middle of a logistical and dysfunctional nightmare. There is no positive scenario in which this ends for them considering even getting a haul of picks for Watson means that they just had to trade away a 25-year-old Pro Bowl passer who hasn't even hit his peak. So, why would the Jaguars bail the Texans out? 

Trading for Watson would give the Jaguars a franchise quarterback, but it would also likely cost at least three first-round selections. Add in the fact that the Texans are a divisional rival who the Jaguars play twice a year, then giving them that much draft ammo and the No. 1 pick would be ensuring the Jaguars would play against Trevor Lawrence twice a year. 

Why would Jacksonville give the Texans an out when the Jaguars could sit tight, see Watson leave the division, and keep their own pick and quarterback in Lawrence? They can watch the quarterback position go up in flames in Houston while not changing anything about their own future. Watson is much more of a sure thing than Lawrence, but there is value in not aiding the Texans if you are the Jaguars. Letting the Texans off the hook in this fiasco by just giving them another likely franchise quarterback seems counterproductive at best. 

Why would the Texans want to play against Watson twice a year?

As for the Texans, would they really be willing to give Watson to a divisional rival so they could play him twice a year? They know more than anyone how talented of a quarterback he is. If they are going to trade him, why would they give him to a rival in the process? 

The Texans would get a terrific prospect in Lawrence and a massive haul of picks in this scenario, but the entire point of the NFL regular season is to win a division. If Watson is so much more of a sure thing than Lawrence, then how do the Texans benefit from that swap? Meanwhile, the Texans almost certainly could get a boatload of picks from other teams for Watson that aren't in the AFC South. Trading him just to potentially lose to him twice a year would be a tough pill to swallow. 

The value of a rookie quarterback contract is simply too great

Teams can win without paying a quarterback on a rookie deal. This year's Super Bowl has two highly paid quarterbacks, while three of the last four quarterbacks in this year's playoffs were on expensive deals. With that said, the Jaguars have an entire roster to overhaul, so having a potential franchise quarterback on a rookie deal would give them a long window to compete. Essentially, they could rebuild the rest of the roster through their enormous amounts of cap space until it is time to pay their new quarterback. 

The counterpoint here would be that the Jaguars don't need any cap relief. They are already set to be among the league leaders in cap space entering the 2021 offseason, so taking on Watson's expensive contract wouldn't be much of an issue. It would restrict them more so in terms of what other free agents they can bring in, however. They could still make big signings, but perhaps not as many. Add this in with the loss of draft picks, and that is a lot of potential roster holes the Jaguars would be unable to fill.

The Jaguars are more than just a quarterback away 

This is a follow-up of the last point, but it is worth pointing out the simple fact that the Jaguars are far more than a quarterback away from competing. Just as picking Lawrence alone won't make the Jaguars a competitive team, simply just adding Watson would be unlikely to turn the NFL's worst roster into a competitive one. 

Placing Watson on the 2020 Jaguars, which is essentially what trading for him would be doing due to the picks involved, would certainly make the Jaguars better than a 1-15 squad. But the Jaguars would still have severe holes all over the rest of the roster, and would now be far less able to fill those holes due to the loss of picks and cap space that would result from a Watson trade.

Watson would elevate the Jaguars to an unbelievable degree, but the Jaguars need more than just a quarterback. Unfortunately, trading for Watson would make it that much harder to surround him with the talent he deserves.