Deshaun Watson would reportedly waive his no-trade clause to be dealt to the Dolphins for Tua Tagovailoa.
Rumors of a possible Deshaun Watson trade have been circulating relentlessly over the past week. As you’d expect, there have been people within the Houston Texans organization refuting those reports but, as the days wear on, they do seem more plausible. That was confirmed on Sunday as ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported that Watson’s unhappiness is a real thing.
Mortensen reported that Watson’s frustration with the organization stems from a number of things, including the “insensitivity to social justice” and that the team failed to interview Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy for the Texans’ vacant head coaching position to an overall lack of input in decision-making. But that’s not all that’s on the table with the quarterback.
According to Mortensen’s sources, Watson would be willing to waive his no-trade clause in his recently signed new contract for a blockbuster deal that would send the quarterback to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for Tua Tagovailoa and a host of draft compensation:
Sources say Watson could play hardball with Texans about a trade. His new $156 million contract includes a no-trade clause but informed speculation from a source is that he would consider the @MiamiDolphins in which Tua Tagovailoa and additional compensation goes to Houston.
— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) January 10, 2021
Trading a player of Watson’s caliber in exchange for the former No. 5 overall pick entering his second year would be a seismic move by both the Texans and the Dolphins. But just because Watson would okay the deal doesn’t mean that Miami would make the trade.
Would the Miami Dolphins trade Tua Tagovailoa for Deshaun Watson?
After what can only be described as a debacle in Week 17 that cost the Dolphins a playoff spot, there were several discussions about whether or not Miami would move on from Tagovailoa and use the No. 3 pick, a selection coincidentally sent to them by Houston in the Laremy Tunsil trade, to draft a quarterback.
However, general manager Chris Grier came out and gave Tua a vote of confidence as the starter moving forward. And frankly, it would be foolish for the Dolphins to move on from Tagovailoa after a half-season in exchange for another rookie. But for a proven commodity like Deshaun Watson is a different story entirely.
On the heels of a 10-win season, the Dolphins are clearly on the cusp of doing something special. And for as talented and productive as Tagovailoa was at Alabama, Watson has proven to be one of the best passers in the league already. That would be a substantial upgrade at the position in the immediate, though it does risk missing out on the development of Tua, a great unknown that should be a mitigating factor.
It’s not all about the talent of the players, though. For one, Miami’s rebuild is not entirely complete. They are still aiming to fill out holes on the roster with their arsenal of draft picks. Subsequently, mortgaging those picks and their quarterback in a Watson trade would make filling those holes more difficult.
Along the same lines, Watson recently signed a four-year, $156 million contract extension with Houston that Miami would have to take on. The Dolphins have been armed with a great deal of cap space by sending off aspects, which allowed them to attack free agency and take steps forward in their process. But adding an albatross quarterback contract to replace a rookie deal for Tua would hinder that plight as well.
This isn’t to say that the Dolphins wouldn’t still trade for Deshaun Watson; they very well still could. However, it is to point out that it’s not a cut-and-dry case of “is Watson or Tua the better quarterback?” We know the answer to that entering 2021. But Miami will have to weigh all these other factors if this mega-trade is a real possibility.