Could 49ers chase disgruntled Texans QB Deshaun Watson?
With 49ers’ season over, annual talk of QB change begins
SANTA CLARA — It might take a Super Bowl win for 49ers fans and media members not to speculate about making a change at quarterback the following spring. In lieu of that, here we are again.
Last year, despite having a late lead over the Chiefs, Jimmy Garoppolo played poorly enough in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl for the speculation to hit high speed when Tom Brady’s interest in joining San Francisco became apparent before he joined Tampa Bay.
Of course, 49ers general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan kicked the idea around. But they decided to stick with the younger Garoppolo rather than make a change to the 43-year-old Brady. The results? Brady is taking the Buccaneers to the NFC Championship Game in Green Bay on Sunday while the 49ers are licking their wounds following an injuryravaged 6-10 campaign that included getting just six games from Garoppolo due to recurring high sprains of his right ankle.
Naturally, San Francisco’s quarterback situation seems far less settled coming off a losing season than the successful campaign in 2019 (save for the Super Bowl ending, of course). There’s a new name making headlines all over the league: the Texans’ 25-year-old star Deshaun Watson, who undoubtedly would be a sizable upgrade at quarterback for the vast majority of teams throughout the NFL, including the team residing in Santa Clara.
So, yes, if Watson is available as his relationship with the Texans publicly deteriorates, the 49ers should absolutely be in the market for his services. A situation like this is exactly why Shanahan left the door open to making a move at quarterback despite saying he expects Garoppolo to be his starter in 2021. What else could he realistically say, anyway?
The 49ers seemingly have enough talent at positions like receiver, offensive tackle (should they bring back bigticket free agent Trent Williams), tight end, pass rusher and linebacker. They could contend for Super Bowls for the foreseeable future even if they have to send a haul of draft picks to Houston to consummate the trade for Watson. After all, the 49ers are just as likely to land another Solomon Thomas or Reuben Foster in
Round 1 as they are Nick Bosa.
The case for Deshaun Watson — The case for chasing Watson is straight forward.
He led the league in 2020 with 4,823 passing yards even after his favorite target, DeAndre Hopkins, was traded to the Arizona Cardinals. He ranked third in adjusted net yards per attempt (accounting for sacks and interceptions) despite playing behind a bad offensive line that allowed Watson to take more sacks (49) than every quarterback not named Carson Wentz (50). He had a better passer rating than everyone not named Aaron Rodgers, the presumptive MVP, despite having a mediocre group of receivers featuring Brandin Cooks, Will Fuller and Randall Cobb.
Durability? Watson has missed one game in the past three seasons. Garoppolo over the same span has missed 23 — and Garoppolo turns 30 next November.
Watson will be 26 in September.
If the goal is to contend for Super Bowls every year, a star quarterback of Watson’s caliber is the best avenue to get there. Based on what we know about Garoppolo, it would seem he needs ideal conditions surrounding him to win a Super Bowl, like having a generational defense paired with an elite running game. That was the case in 2019 when the 49ers needed just eight pass attempts from Garoppolo to throttle the Packers in the conference championship.
And with defensive coordinator Robert Saleh now the head coach of the New York Jets, on top of all the turnover that could happen in the secondary, San Francisco would be hardpressed to field a top-five defense again in 2021. That means Garoppolo would have to take a significant step forward, and stay healthy, for San Francisco to contend in the NFC. That’s hardly a given now that Garoppolo had two of his last three years derailed by leg injuries.