One of the biggest storylines in the NFL over the past few weeks has been Deshaun Watson being unhappy and wanting out of Houston. On Thursday, the trade request became official as the quarterback informed the franchise he wanted out.
With nearly a dozen teams potentially needing a quarterback this offseason and some big names being available, this is going to be very interesting to see how it plays out. Among those teams that needs a quarterback are the Chicago Bears. They passed on Watson and Patrick Mahomes back in the 2017 NFL Draft in favor of Mitch Trubisky who is set to be a free agent this year.
KEEPING IT 100 PODCAST: WILL THE BEARS BE BIG PLAYERS IN THE QB MARKET?
But now Ryan Pace has a chance to right his wrong and it sounds like the Bears are already interested. According to Ian Rapoport, the Bears are one of the teams that have contacted the Texans already about making a deal for Watson in the preliminary stages:
From NFL Now: The #Texans have received plenty of calls on Deshaun Watson, and that will continue. From the #Jets to the #Bears to #Panthers, who'll make a strong push, to many others. One of the most robust trade markets we've seen. pic.twitter.com/uMpnK6iYP0
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 28, 2021
Now, this doesn’t mean that the Bears and Texans have discussed a deal in terms of pieces but it is interesting to hear that they have inquired at least. Watson does have a no-trade clause in his contract and can essentially dictate where he wants to go in this deal.
The problem for the Bears is that they may not have a good enough package to offer compared to teams like the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins, two teams that have quarterbacks they can send in a package plus high first-round picks. The Bears have Nick Foles and are picking No. 20 overall this year.
These next few weeks should be interesting in terms of the quarterback market as we are headed for what should be a very active offseason.