TURN ON THE JETS!
Leonard: If Watson really wants to play for Gang Green, Woody might be ready to make a huge splash
f Deshaun Watson really wants to play for the Jets, there is a big reason he might get his wish: Woody’s back. Woody Johnson hasn’t been running the Jets the past four years. He’s been working as the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom. His younger brother Christopher has been handling the franchise in his stead.
But Woody flew back from London on Thursday to reclaim his chairman’s seat in Florham Park, and it may have been just in time to accommodate Watson’s wishes on a trade out of Houston to the Big Apple.
Woody likes big names. He knows they drive back page headlines. He knows the quarterback makes it all tick.
Woody is the one who brought Brett Favre here in 2008 and who
brought Tim Tebow here in 2012.
Watson, 25, is a great player who wants out of the Texans organization. So Christopher Johnson, Jets GM Joe Douglas and new coach Robert Saleh already would be evaluating a possible trade here as an option, even with Woody out of the picture.
But trading for Watson likely would cost Sam Darnold, multiple first-round picks and more. And that trio of Jets decision makers could view the price as too expensive for a roster with too many needs to sacrifice those premium picks.
Acquiring a QB like Watson would accelerate expectations for Saleh and Douglas to start winning. And while he is a great player, they might determine the Jets’ roster isn’t ready to meet the expectations that would come with securing a transcendent QB.
But that is why Woody’s return as chairman matters. Because he has the final say. Because even if Christopher Johnson, Douglas and Saleh wanted to pump the brakes, if Woody wanted to go for it, his opinion would carry the day.
If Saturday’s report in the Miami Herald is true, Watson has cleared the other hurdle to a trade himself.
Watson has a no-trade clause. The Texans can’t trade him somewhere unless he signs off.
It was initially believed he preferred the Miami Dolphins, who own two first-round picks, could ship Tua Tagovailoa back to Houston, and play in a state with no income tax (the latter a major draw to players).
But if the Herald’s report is accurate, that Watson wants the Jets above all especially after the hiring of Saleh, then we know he would sign off and all that’s left is for Douglas and Texans GM Nick Caserio to come to terms.
Watson has a lot of reasons for wanting out of Houston, stemming directly from mismanagement and a lack of trust of owner Cal McNair and his consigliere Jack Easterby, who has been painted by multiple Sports Illustrated reports as a snake, or a wolf in sheep’s clothing, pulling strings behind the scenes but failing to pull the wool over players’ eyes.
Caserio is a smart evaluator who undoubtedly does not want to trade Watson, but may have no choice in order to clean up the mess he has inherited and rebuild from scratch.
Watson reportedly wanted the Texans to interview Saleh for their head coaching position, but Houston was the only team of the seven vacancies that didn’t talk to Saleh.
If Saleh’s hiring helps them also land Watson, that would make the Jets and their fan base feel even better about the decision to make the former Niners defensive coordinator their head coach.
Saleh refused to endorse Darnold this past week as his quarterback, so it is possible and even likely that the Jets have a plan to move on at QB anyway.
(There is no way Saleh and Douglas might have discussed Watson as an option in his interview, is there? That would be something.)
But they also have the No. 2 overall pick. So players like Justin Fields, Zach Wilson and Trey Lance will be available, and they could determine that they are better off not surrendering tons of premium assets for Watson when they could keep all those picks and use them to build a better team — even if Darnold isn’t their guy.
But that’s why Woody is the wild card. Woody has final say. And in the past, Woody has shown that he is eager to chase the big names at QB.
He is the key. Woody is the key to it all.