The Deshaun Watson situation in Houston is a messy, unpleasant tangle of lawsuits against the Texans quarterback, moral quagmires for rival owners and general managers, and the on-the-field aspect of football.
Despite having Jalen Hurts on a rookie contract and a rebuild in mind, the Eagles have repeatedly been tied to Watson as one of the Texans' most likely suitors for a Watson trade, should the 25-year-old QB's legal troubles come to a quiet conclusion.
Plenty of Eagles fans are wary of adding Watson, who is accused of sexual assault and sexual misconduct by more than 20 women, to the team, but that likely won't dissuade Howie Roseman from poking around the situation as things unfold.
On Wednesday, however, the Watson-to-Philly buzz took a bit of a hit when Broncos safety and longtime Watson teammate Kareem Jackson told Aqib Talib on the Catching Fades podcast that Watson wants to play in Denver:
"JACKSON: I got a great relationship with Deshaun, I've been talking to him the last couple weeks man, and like all he's been telling me is like, 'Look, Jack, just tell 'em that's where I want to be. That's where I want to be.'
"TALIB: He sees the setup, the line's straight. He sees the setup.
"JACKSON: He's like man, listen, 'I want to be in Denver.'"
NFL
There's not much ambiguous about "I want to be in Denver", huh?
Plenty of fans will be quick to point out that Watson doesn't have control over where he lands in an eventual trade, particularly after he put the Texans in a doubly tough spot by first demanding a trade and then becoming the focus of more than 20 lawsuits during trade talks. Houston's front office probably isn't thrilled at the idea of working with Watson to find a mutually agreeable trade destination.
However!
If Watson wants to play one place and isn't interested in other destinations, they're not going to have an easy time convincing a team like the Eagles to part with numerous valuable assets if it seems like Watson doesn't want to play for their organization. Adding Watson is already a risky play for a number of reasons; you've got to know that the football side of things is rock solid before you make that move.
Ultimately, Roseman and the Eagles will probably continue to monitor Watson's situation, but I wouldn't be surprised if Denver - a perfect on-field fit for Watson - winds up landing the young QB.
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