The 49ers are finally working their way into Deshaun Watson’s trade talk after most of the early discussions of national reporters focused on the dolphins and jets. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported San Francisco is one of the teams Watson found intriguing
That doesn’t necessarily mean a trade is imminent, though, and the Texans are holding on to their willingness to let Watson sit all season in hopes of ultimately saving their relationship with their franchise caller.
What could follow is a long deadlock between the two sides that lasts all season. If they decide to move away from Watson, Peter King noted in his Football Morning in America column that this could not happen until September. That would be a scenario where Houston exhausts all roads before giving in.
Let’s go to a world where that takes place and Houston starts handling phone calls about the QB in early September.
While it would leave Watson far behind with his new club to the point that he might not be able to start the season, it could easily pull the trigger for San Francisco.
Assuming it features at least three picks in the first round, chances are those picks would all be late selections, given what Watson would do for head coach Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers’ attack. They would also have this year’s No. 12 pick on the roster and wouldn’t have to include it in that group of picks.
It would also make a team like the Jets of Dolphins less attractive trading partners, as they would no longer have second and third picks in this year’s draft – one of the main reasons they have been named as potential trading candidates.
The long wait would also be easier because the 49ers were willing to stay with Jimmy Garoppolo. He’s not the ideal quarterback, but they’re not eager to say goodbye to him either. If they have to sit on their hands while they wait for Watson to become available, they can do so knowing they have a signal caller that they are comfortable with if a transaction never closes.
A name like Watson’s, even if he’s whispered in the trading market, will get him a story until he’s either fit for Houston again or until he’s finally relocated. It seems like waiting for a potential trade could take a long time, but San Francisco is in a good position to wait, and Watson is a potential trading target worth waiting for.