Nothing Has Changed So Why Would Bears Be in Mix for Deshaun Watson?

The last anyone checked, this is still the National Football League and not the National Basketball Association.

Players don't engineer trades.

And the Bears haven't acquired anyone's spare first-round draft pick. They haven't found one lying on the sidewalk or had a deceased relative will one or two to them.

So even if Deshaun Watson found a way to get Houston to trade him, the Bears are not getting him. It's not happening if Ian Rapoport says they're in the mix or if Ted Phillips himself walks down Michigan Ave. wearing a banner saying "we're in the mix."

They're not in the mix.

To make trades of this type, a team needs something to offer. They don't want another team's 30-year-old players or second-year overachievers or a running back with promise.

The Texans haven't even said they want to trade Watson anyway. Texans insider John McClain, a 45-year veteran of the NFL reporting wars, continues to say it's not something the team will do. And with coach Dave Culley and Lovie Smith on staff, they've got two very persuasive players coaches who will calm the entire situation down if given the chance.

If the Texans did foolishly decide to do it, the compensation would need to be outlandish.

The Jets could offer the second pick and 23rd pick, and make no mistake, they'd have to offer up even more. The Miami Dolphins could offer the third pick and the 18th pick, and could even trade away Tua Tagovailoa for a pick or two and throw those picks into the hopper in order to acquire Watson.

Jacksonville might even get involved. Would you rather have Watson, who is 25 years old, or Trevor Lawrence, who might be the brilliant rookie quarterback or could be a first-round disappointment. Hey, it happens. Chicago should know this.

The Jaguars also have the 25th pick to throw in for that trade.

And what do the Bears have to offer? No. 20 in Round 1 and some deep-dish pizzas.

The Detroit Lions can give the seventh pick in the draft, a better second-rounder than the Bears have to offer, and when they trade away Matthew Stafford they could have even more picks to sweeten the pot. Then you have to figure they'll have really good picks they can throw in from next year, too, because, well, they're the Detroit Lions and they always do.

Wouldn't that be a kick in the teeth for the Bears? They didn't draft Watson and now they'll be punished not only by failing to obtain him but by being required to face him twice a year with Detroit?

The Bears need to focus on the draft, maybe watch for quarterbacks who might become available for trade like possibly Tagovailoa, Carson Wentz or Jimmy Garoppolo—but not Jared Goff.

Unless the Bears offered their next four first-round picks, they're not getting Deshaun Watson. No one in Halas Hall would have the guts for such a bold move.

Deshaun Watson talk is merely a tease to keep Chicagoans watching NFL Network.

It seems to be working from the reaction on social media and talk radio, but how many more ways can you throw the Bears into some sort of mix for acquiring someone before people finally realize, hey, all of that, it simply ain't happenin'.

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