The turmoil within the Houston Texans organization could play to Bill Belichick’s advantage, with a report suggesting that he could swing a trade to bring the unhappy J.J. Watt to the New England Patriots.
As the Fansided blog Musket Fire reported, the Texans have been in disarray after a series of decisions and front-office hires left players unhappy, including quarterback Deshaun Watson, who has reportedly asked for a trade. New reports this weekend indicated that Watt is done with the franchise as well, ready to move on and start over in a new setting.
The outlet noted that the asking price for Watt is expected to be relatively small compared to what teammate Watson would likely fetch, citing one hypothetical where he would be traded in exchange for a second-round draft pick and a conditional sixth-rounder. Watt has one year remaining on his six-year, $100 million deal, which would bring down his value even more and make him one of the more affordable star players potentially on the trade block this offseason.
Musket Fire speculated that the Patriots would likely need to offer a second and fourth-round pick for Watt but noted that Belichick would be ready to pounce if the deal is available.
“As we’ve seen with Watson, the Texans have zero leverage when it comes to retaining the faces of their franchise, and Bill Belichick should look to take full advantage of the situation,” the outlet noted.
“The Patriots were likely planning to sign a defensive end in free agency anyway. Trading for somebody of Watt’s caliber would not only fill a positional need, but he’d fit right into their culture in terms of players being held accountable and expected to perform at the highest level.”
The rumors surrounding Watt have been swirling for several weeks, reaching a peak after the All Pro pass rusher went off on the team’s poor performance during a mid-season losing streak.
The Patriots are likely to have other offseason priorities, including finding a new starting quarterback after Cam Newton’s expected departure. That could eat into some of the team’s potential draft capital when looking for a deal for Watt, as the Patriots have been connected to some of the established signal callers who could be on the block in the coming months. Given the high price the Los Angeles Rams paid to land Matthew Stafford — giving up two first-round draft picks along with a third-rounder — the price for some of the remaining quarterbacks is considered to be very high.