NFL GM explains the hurdles in trading for Deshaun Watson | You Pod to Win the Game
Yahoo Sports’ Senior NFL Writers Charles Robinson and Frank Schwab discuss the unprecedented conundrum facing the Texans on what to do with quarterback Deshaun Watson, and how they are trying to proceed through camp and beyond. Plus, an NFL General Manager describes what keeps his colleagues up at night when contemplating trading for Watson.
Video Transcript
CHARLES ROBINSON: I really wanted to ask you about Watson because, you know, continues to be a very hot topic anywhere I go. These teams all know I live in Houston, and so you get into this question and answer period sort of about Deshaun Watson. What I think is interesting here, though, is-- and I want to ask you this.
The Texans are sitting there, they're being risk averse by not putting him out there in anything that will get a blown Achilles tendon or tear a ligament in his knee. But at the end of the day, they have to convince a team not to be risk averse to trade him. They have to convince a buyer out there that, hey, this is worth the risk that could come down the pipeline. The way one general manager framed it to me is, look, there's two distinct things you're dealing with here. And it's clearly someone who had done a lot of background into potentially investing something in Deshaun Watson if he ever became available.
And this GM said to me, you have on one hand everything that's happened up until this point. The HPD investigation that's ongoing. Now, granted, they haven't done anything yet, but it's ongoing. The NFL investigation that's ongoing. Granted, they haven't done anything yet, but it's ongoing. You have the 22 civil cases that are still out there headed toward litigation. After the season ends in February, Deshaun Watson's supposed to be deposed.
He said that's one box, and that's bad enough. He said, but really what keeps you up at night is you think of completing the trade, and then you think of the day after, 10 other women come out or 10 other things happen that you did not see coming down the pipeline, the same way you didn't see this initial tidal wave hit this guy of allegations and things that we could have never thought of. And he said, and at that point, you're at fault for everything that happens in that second box. As bad as everything is that's already out there, he's like, it's that total abyss that you then have to reflect upon after you've made the investment. And it's hard to quantify that.
FRANK SCHWAB: Right. I mean, this is gonna be an expensive trade. You're giving up a lot. And I want to ask you. I mean, you've been talking to people. What does even a trade for Deshaun look like right now? Have we ever seen a trade like this? I don't think so. Where's there's just so many questions about everything with a really, really talented guy, who normally you'd give up the world for Deshaun Watson, you know, back in January. Not anymore.
CHARLES ROBINSON: All I can say is the Texans are adamant they are not going to undersell themselves on him. Because they're confident that wherever he goes, he's gonna shape that franchise for 10 years and more.
FRANK SCHWAB: I think he's a great player. He just is. Let me ask you this. So I think the easy answer, the end game here, is the Texans trade him to somebody for whatever. What if, OK, the Texans don't want to fire sell him? Nobody wants to give up with all this hanging over. What's the end game?
CHARLES ROBINSON: The Texans do not know right now.
FRANK SCHWAB: Yeah.
CHARLES ROBINSON: They are playing it week by week right now. They did not anticipate him showing up and then essentially putting them in a position where they have to create him as a hold-in. What I mean by-- you know, we use the term hold-in versus hold-out.
FRANK SCHWAB: Yeah, right.
CHARLES ROBINSON: He's in there. He's not doing anything. He's holding out, but he's in the building. And they're 100% on board with that because they have to preserve the equity that they have in Deshaun Watson. So, again, I think this is a week-by-week process, but I also think the Texans are sitting there contemplating we might have to ride it out this entire season with him on the roster and--
FRANK SCHWAB: Not playing?
CHARLES ROBINSON: --just not playing. Wait until--
FRANK SCHWAB: Wow.
CHARLES ROBINSON: --he has a market.
FRANK SCHWAB: That would be--
CHARLES ROBINSON: It would be-- I agree with you.
FRANK SCHWAB: It's unbelievable. Unbelievable. You're gonna play Tyrod Taylor all year?
CHARLES ROBINSON: Of course it would be unbelievable. It would be crazy. But it's unprecedented. The situation they're in is unprecedented. There's no blueprint for how to fix this. They are literally creating a blueprint on how to fix an impossible situation.