Watson — is he option at QB?
Rift in Houston might put him on 49ers’ radar
In 2017, the 49ers expected to sign quarterback Kirk Cousins in the offseason.
But something unexpected happened: New England head coach Bill Belichick made an outoftheblue call and offered them Jimmy Garoppolo for a secondround pick.
In 2020, the 49ers expected to retain Garoppolo on the heels of a Super Bowl season.
But something unexpected happened: Tom Brady became a free agent for the first time in two decades and the Bay Area native was interested in signing with the 49ers.
In 2021? Last week, general manager John Lynch, who has learned to expect the unexpected, offered only that the 49ers “expect” Garoppolo to be their starter next season.
And, yes — you guessed it — something unexpected has happened involving a franchise QB who could be available this offseason: Houston’s Deshaun Watson, 25, who is coming off a
4,823yard, 33touchdown season, is reportedly furious with the Texans’ organization and wants to be traded.
Would the 49ers explore adding Watson if he were on the trade block? Their answer probably would be like the response head coach Kyle Shanahan offered when explaining why the 49ers considered replacing Garoppolo with Brady.
“Of course, when someone like the greatest player to ever play football is out there, you definitely look into that,” Shanahan said last week.
At this point, it’s far from certain that the 49ers, or any other team, will have a chance to look into acquiring Watson, the 12th overall pick in 2017 who has been voted to the Pro Bowl the past three seasons.
The Texans presumably will do everything short of making Watson their owner to make things right with the player they signed to a fouryear, $ 160 million extension in September.
In fact, Houston requested a headcoach interview Tuesday with Kansas City offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who is reportedly Watson’s preferred candidate. Watson’s desire for a trade is because of owner Cal McNair not seeking his input, as he reportedly said he would, on the Texans’ headcoach and generalmanager openings. Houston filled its GM vacancy by hiring Patriots executive Nick Caserio last week.
The first order of business for Caserio and the new head coach, of course, will be to convince Watson to stay with Houston, which would absorb a $ 21.6 million deadmoney charge if it traded him.
If that doesn’t work? Well, Watson has a notrade clause in his contract, which means he could steer trade discussions to teams of his choosing. And the 49ers, who are 11 months removed from a Super Bowl appearance and have a gifted offensive playcaller in Shanahan, would figure to have some appeal.
And, continuing this possible pipedream exercise, Caserio knows Garoppolo well after they spent threeplus seasons together in New England. Assuming Caserio’s impression was favorable, he could have interest in a Watson trade that would involve Garoppolo. In addition, such a deal wouldn’t be prohibitive for the 49ers from a financial perspective: Garoppolo is scheduled to count $ 26.9 million against next season’s salary cap, which is about $ 11 million less than Watson’s 2021 cap charge.
There is the not inconsequential matter of trade compensation, which would involve a package that included multiple firstround picks.
Given Watson’s value to the Texans and a time frame that allows for cooling off — a trade couldn’t be made until March — it’s likely Watson stays put.
However, that doesn’t necessarily mean the 49ers will be sticking with Garoppolo. Shanahan has said the 49ers plan to keep Garoppolo, while indirectly explaining why the 49ers won’t unequivocally declare he will be their 2021 starter.
“You look into every avenue,” Shanahan said last month, “and you see if there's something out there that can get you a ton better. It's the same answer for every position.”
What could be coming down the road this offseason? At the moment, beyond Watson, there don’t appear to be appealing veteran QB options for the 49ers to explore that would provide a significant upgrade from Garoppolo.
But what if the Cowboys were open to dealing Dak Prescott, who is scheduled to be a free agent? Or what if the Packers, who selected QB Jordan Love in the first round last year, were ready to move on from Aaron Rodgers?
Of course, both scenarios appear implausible, if not laughable. Dallas figures to keep Prescott with a contract extension, or by applying the franchise tag for the second straight season. And it would seemingly be a monumental mistake for the Packers to part with Rodgers, 37, who likely will be named the NFL’s MVP.
But there’s a reason the 49ers, who also could trade up from the 12th spot in the draft to grab a QB, won’t fully commit to Garoppolo in January: They know from experience that they don’t know what could happen.