Deshaun Watson, Chicago Bears. (Mandatory Credit: Quinn Harris-USA TODAY Sports)
Here is how the Chicago Bears could trade for Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.
The Chicago Bears famously passed on Deshaun Watson in the 2017 NFL Draft, when they traded up to take Mitchell Trubisky with the No. 2 pick. However, they have a chance to make up for that colossal failure and trade for the disgruntled quarterback.
While Watson has requested a trade, the Houston Texans front office and ownership remain committed to keeping the Pro Bowl signal-caller. Watson has deleted Texans references from his social media. All the while, the Bears believe they are a competent starting quarterback away from contending for a Super Bowl.
How can the Chicago Bears trade for Deshaun Watson this offseason?
This is going to be very, very difficult for the Bears front office to pull off. It would require giving up three first-round picks just to begin negotiations, and considering the Bears don’t have an early pick in the first, it’ll be difficult to trump offers from the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins who own the No. 2 and No. 3 picks, respectively. Those picks can then be used to draft Watson’s replacement.
So in addition to trading first-round picks for the next three years, the Bears would have to part ways with either budding superstar linebacker Roquan Smith to entice the Texans. If the Bears don’t want to part with the former No. 8 pick, they may have to part with former All-Pro safety Eddie Jackson and cornerback Jaylon Johnson who had a strong rookie season in 2020 after being taken in the second round out of Utah last year. Even then, that may not be enough.
Even though Bears fans would die for their beloved team to trade for Watson, do not count on this to happen. The Bears are in win-now mode with Pace and head coach Matt Nagy likely needing to win a playoff game to keep their jobs next season, but gutting the roster to get Watson may not be the avenue they want to take.
The more likely decision is the Bears will either bring back Trubisky on a cheap one-year deal to compete again with Nick Foles or sign a stop-gap solution to compete with Foles in free agency. They could also use their first round pick to potentially draft Alabama quarterback Mac Jones if he’s available and hope he can be the answer that has plagued the franchise for more than a century.
The only thing you can count on them to do is make the wrong quarterback decision every time.