There Might Be 1 Surprising Holdup In A Deshaun Watson Trade

The Houston Texans are reportedly on the verge of trading Pro Bowl quarterback Deshaun Watson to the Miami Dolphins. But a third party could be holding up the deal from going through.

According to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk, Texans general manager Nick Caserio may not want to make a trade that New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick wouldn’t approve of. Florio said that Belichick definitely wouldn’t approve of a trade that sends Deshaun Watson to a division rival.

Caserio worked for Belichick on the Patriots prior to joining the Texans earlier this year. Florio believes that Belichick has so much sway over his former employees that Caserio would balk at making the deal.

But Florio doesn’t offer much in the way of evidence here. It seems much more likely that the Texans and Dolphins are working out how big the deal is going to be and if there are any potential offsets due to Watson’s ongoing legal issues.

The Houston Texans reportedly want three-first round picks and two second-round picks in exchange for Deshaun Watson. That’s a high price for any team, regardless of how talented the player is.

Even in normal circumstances it’d be a price tag to make NFL teams balk. But the ongoing criminal investigation into Watson is only going to make things harder.

Bill Belichick is a huge figure in the NFL, and has influenced the careers of an entire generation of executives, coaches and players.

Maybe he does have enough influence to keep Deshaun Watson out of the division he’s dominated for 20 years.

But in this case, the price tag alone seems like a big enough deterrent.

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