Deshaun Watson trade rumors: How much will teams have to give up?

Deshaun Watson has reportedly asked for a trade from the Houston Texans but how much would another team have to give up in a deal to get the quarterback?

Reports of Deshaun Watson being unhappy with the Houston Texans and eyeing a trade have been numerous over the past few weeks. However, it wasn’t until Thursday that Watson reportedly requested that he be traded out of Houston, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Now the real dicsussions can begin.

Teams who have reportedly been linked to a Watson trade are already numerous. The Miami Dolphins have been called his preferred landing spot, the New York Jets are on the list and the Carolina Panthers are prepared to make a hefty pursuit after the dynamic young quarterback.

One question that isn’t often addressed, however, is what those teams would have to give up in a trade that would land them Watson. We know the price would be high — but how high? NFL Media insider Ian Rapoport offered some insight on that.

Appearing on NFL Total Access, Rapoport said he expected that it would likely take three first-round picks and a player to acquire the “generational talent” on the trade market. He noted that we’ve seen trades for star players that cost two first-rounders but, with Watson’s talent, age and position, there is even more of a premium that will be placed on him.

That’s certainly expensive and risky for any NFL team to try and pull off. Having said that, if Watson wants out and Houston holds firm at such an expensive price, there’s still no reason to believe a trade won’t eventually happen.

All it takes is one team for the Texans to get their price in a Deshaun Watson trade.

On Friday, new Texans general manager Nick Caserio said that the organization has no plans of trading Deshaun Watson:

Of course, if Watson plans to sit out games, then the Texans would be foolish to not recoup some value in a trade and give everyone a clean slate. Moreover, there’s a good chance that the Houston front office and coaching staff are merely posturing by stating their commitment to the quarterback so that they don’t appear to have lost leverage in trade negotiations.

If that is the case, then it’s reasonable to assume that Houston is going to stand firm on a steep price tag. At the end of the day, while you could make the argument that 90 percent of the NFL would be interested in the idea of adding Watson, the price of such a trade would likely sour them on the idea.

But that doesn’t eliminate everyone. Franchise quarterbacks with Watson’s talent don’t grow on trees. And if there is a team who believes they are an upgrade at quarterback away from contending for a Super Bowl, then it’s a worthwhile deal to make. Now we’ll just have to wait and see which team is willing to pony up.