John Clayton: Broncos One of Two Teams With 'Good Chance' of Landing Deshaun Watson
Tuesday opened the widow for NFL teams to tender players on the franchise tag, ending on the March 9 deadline. While multiple reports suggest the Denver Broncos plan to franchise-tag safety Justin Simmons for a second-straight season, all eyes and ears are locked on Houston Texans disgruntled quarterback Deshaun Watson.
FanDuel oddsmakers recently installed Denver as the odds-on favorite to land Watson via trade. Currently sitting at +150 in the Watson sweepstakes, the Broncos are twice as likely as the Texans (+300) to have him under center in 2021. Needless to say, Watson Watch is at the forefront of the Broncos' offseason to-do list.
On Monday, 104.3 The FAN’s John Clayton reported that despite Houston sticking to its guns in its unwillingness to trade Watson, the three-time Pro Bowler still wants out and is resolved to hold true to his threat of sitting out the 2021 season.
The Texans are insisting they’re not going to trade their quarterback, but everything I hear from Watson’s people is that he wants out and he’s not going to be there at all this year if necessary.
Clayton has covered the NFL for 50 years and is in the writer’s wing of the Pro Football Hall of Fame so when he went on to suggest that patience is a tool that Denver can utilize to its advantage, it came with more gravitas.
‘The Professor’ suggests that because incumbent QB Drew Lock is already in-house, other teams like the New York Jets need time to evaluate 2021 draft prospects and free-agent veteran options. The theory makes sense as the Jets remain lukewarm on Sam Darnold, which consequently projects New York as likely to take a QB in the first round of the draft.
Because the Texans and Watson are waiting for the other to flinch first, Denver could potentially obtain the QB closer to the draft, toward the end of April.
"They can be patient as long as they have Lock, who they’re going to keep while they wait to see what happens with Watson,” Clayton wrote. “The two teams I see with a good chance to do something for Watson are Denver and Carolina.”
One interesting dynamic about Clayton’s most recent report is that it directly contradicts his Hall-of-Fame peer John McClain — he of the Houston Chronicle fame. Just last week, McClain told KOARadio, “I’ll guarantee you the Broncos ain’t getting Deshaun Watson.”
Last month, McClain fired off a tweet that at the time seemed reasonable but has since become less and less likely to be true.
Although McClain is an esteemed and respected writer, he has a history of checkered promises. In 2020, McClain said that Texans wideout DeAndre Hopkins would not be traded amid spiraling rumors. That spring, the Texans traded Hopkins to Arizona in exchange for running back David Johnson and multiple draft picks.
Both the NFL offseason and draft season are commonly referred to as ‘the season of lies.’ The nickname makes sense as national writers and prestigious insiders are naturally pitted against each other in contradictory reports.
Depending on who you ask, the Broncos remain the top contender to win the Watson sweepstakes and at the very least, are in-play.
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