NFL Rumors: Raiders Could Acquire Deshaun Watson For Derek Carr & Draft Picks, Per ‘Bleacher Report’
Amid the Houston Texans’ determination to hang on to Deshaun Watson following his trade request, a recent article suggested that the Las Vegas Raiders could land the three-time Pro Bowler for a package centered on their starting signal-caller, Derek Carr.
As explained on Wednesday by Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox, there’s a possibility the Texans might consider trading Watson to the Raiders in the event they aren’t able to convince him to remain in Houston. Specifically, he suggested that in order to make the deal work, the Raiders will need to offer a similar package to the one that the Los Angeles Rams offered to the Detroit Lions in last week’s Matthew Stafford trade.
According to Knox, the Raiders could send Carr to the Texans along with first-round picks in the 2021 and 2022 draft, as well as “additional compensation,” including a 2022 second-rounder in order to acquire the 25-year-old Watson.
“Watson should be viewed as more valuable than Stafford because of his age, but Las Vegas’ next two first-round picks are more valuable than the 2022 and 2023 first-rounders that were surrendered in the Stafford deal—teams typically value future picks less than those in the current year.”
As shown on his Pro Football Reference page, Watson tallied career-best numbers in several categories in the 2020 campaign, including touchdown passes (33), interceptions (seven), passing yards (4,823), and QB rating (112.4). However, he played for a Texans team that finished with a 4-12 record after two consecutive postseason appearances.
Meanwhile, Carr also had a productive 2020 campaign, throwing 27 touchdown passes and nine interceptions for 4,103 yards and a 101.4 QB rating, per Pro Football Reference. Interestingly, his older brother, David Carr, previously played for the Texans, who selected him first overall in the 2002 NFL Draft.
While Knox noted that Carr is “at least an above-average quarterback” who, at 29 years old, is still in the prime of the career and on a “reasonable” contract that expires in 2022, he cautioned that both teams involved in the hypothetical transaction would likely have to do some “cap-juggling” in order to make things work, given how both teams are expected to exceed the salary cap in the coming offseason.
The Raiders are just one of the many teams that have been mentioned in trade ideas involving Watson since he first demanded to be traded. However, NBC Sports analyst Chris Simms recently hinted that the signal-caller might be willing to sit out the entire 2021 season if Houston remains adamant and refuses to honor his request, as reported by The Inquisitr.
