Forget the Seahawks and Broncos, the real winner of the Russell Wilson trade is Deshaun Watson.
After the Denver Broncos put up a half-hearted effort to trade for Russell Wilson, which surprisingly worked due to Washington being passed over, there is one person who has to be the happiest of all. That one person is Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.
In FanSided’s NFL Insider Matt Lombardo’s column, Lombardo featured former NFL Executive of the year, Randy Mueller. Mueller expressed his belief that the Broncos “Set the floor” for the Houston Texans in terms of compensation. But, of course, that’s referring to the two first-round picks Seattle received in return.
That bodes well for the Houston Texans, as general manager Nick Caserio has wanted a CVS receipt-length list for Watson. If the floor is two, could the ceiling be three, maybe even four first-round picks? It’s once again time to fire up the trade proposals and ideas.
Deshaun Watson is believed to be a phenomenal fit for Pittsburgh Steelers
Sage Rosenfels, a former NFL quarterback, was also featured in Lombardo’s column. Rosenfels added that the best situation for Watson to land in would be the Pittsburgh Steelers:
"“A team like the Steelers, who have had a consistent franchise for a long time, I think that would be an unbelievable fit for Watson,” Rosenfels explains. “It would be huge for Mike Tomlin and that group to get him.”"
If a trade deal were to be struck with Pittsburgh (like this one that was proposed) would have a low chance of happening. Outside of draft capital, at least one or two key players would have to be included in the trade.
It’s extremely unlikely that the Steelers would ship T.J. Watt out of town. Outside of Watt, the only other big-name player that’s really worth trading for is safety Minkah Fitzpatrick or Najee Harris.
I can’t entirely agree with Rosenfels here, as Pittsburgh has shown signs of slowing down within the past few seasons. However, the collapse in 2020 after starting 11-0 and being curb-stomped by the Cleveland Browns in the wild card round on top of last year’s clunker of a season make Pittsburgh an unattractive place.
Mike Tomlin is a good coach, but his inability to adapt to the younger crowd may actually be damaging his rapport with the team. But if Watson is happy to play there, then so be it.