Broncos Country remains on the edge of its seat as the Houston Texans finally agree and make disaffected quarterback Deshaun Watson available through trade. At this point, new Houston GM Nick Caserio has adamantly stuck to his position that the Texans are not interested in trading Watson, even if it means the veteran QB is following his threat to sit out the 2021 season.
But it hasn’t stopped Vegas from placing bets on Watson’s next NFL destination. FanDuel recently installed the Broncos with the best chances of landing the triple Pro Bowler.
Meanwhile, what does all this media and fan speculation, combined with the overt involvement of new Denver Broncos GM George Paton in the QB trading market, mean for Drew Lock? Lock comes from a second season where he started 13 games with 4-9 going, completing a paltry 57.3% of his passes towards the pace of the league in interceptions (tied with Carson Wentz at 15).
For what it’s worth, although Lock made a lot of choices, his TD-to-INT ratio was still plus-1 to 16-to-15. He finished the season with 2,933 passing yards and chips in three more hasty touchdowns. Lock accounted for 19 total touchdowns and also accounted for three fumbles lost, bringing the TD-to-Giveaway ratio to 19-to-18 – still plus-1.
Pro Bowl safety Justin Simmons weighed in on the Watson vs. Lock issue during a Twitch live stream where he answered questions from his audience.
“We just gotta see what happens, man,” Simmons said. “I like Drew … I think if someone adds someone like Deshaun Watson, you are automatically a contender, right? That guy is a dress-up.[ational]- he’s a great talent. That said, I love Drew too and I think he’s going to be great over the years. “
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Lock is in a difficult situation. Undoubtedly, it’s hard enough to hear, see and read all the speculation in the media and in the fan base, but he’s also seen more than one teammate vocally advocate and / or openly recruit Watson for Denver.
If Lock has NFL courage, he’ll shake off all naysayers and negativity like water off a duck’s back. If he can’t match his odds as an NFL QB, it could be an albatross around his neck dragging him down (enough with the bird metaphors).
Time will tell. For now, however, Watson Watch remains unchanged. Houston has maintained his reluctant position, while Lock has generated some buzz as he stayed at Broncos headquarters in Denver and worked hard to attack the off-season early.
The new competition year starts on March 17, when the free agent’s bell rings, although the legal sabotage period starts two days earlier. Simmons’ fate could be decided by then if the Broncos negotiate a long-term extension ahead of time or tag him for the second year in a row.
Barring any of these capabilities, Simmons will enter the open waters of unlimited free power and negotiate with remote teams starting March 15. If that happens, the Broncos are unlikely to re-sign him.
As for the QB situation, there could be additional context for the future of the Broncos soon, even if Watson Watch remains unchanged, if Paton signs a free agent veteran like an Andy Dalton, Jacoby Brissett, Ryan Fitzpatrick or Cam Newton . That seems the most likely course, given the king’s ransom that Houston will demand if it turns around and agrees to Watson’s demands.
If Paton is all about “ design and development ” and saving design picks, like he waxed philosophically during his January hello press, took it back another year with Lock and saves all those choices to keep Denver’s gaping Filling in grid gaps, hoping that successive years of Pat Shurmur’s offensive system will pay off for Lock, seems the most likely course of action.