Philadelphia Eagles Report: Deshaun Watson wanted no part in Philly

Welp, the Deshaun Watson saga is officially over.

That’s right, after being linked to about a half dozen teams across the NFL, the Cleveland Browns have come out on top and secured the right to the former Clemson QB for the price of three first-round picks and a third-round pick.

That’s… a steep price to pay for such a polarizing player, but hey, if it works out for the Browns, then who are you, I, or anyone else to judge?

For some fans of the Philadelphia Eagles, this announcement was crushing. For one reason or another, they’d long held out a desire to see Watson in midnight green and hoped that Howie Roseman would swoop in and steal away the Pro Bowl quarterback to be the face of the franchise for years to come.

If you fall into that camp, I’m sorry for your emotional loss but I do have a nugget of information that may or may not ease your disdain for the front office ever so slightly: Deshaun Watson reportedly wanted no part in the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Philadelphia Eagles can finally put the Watson chatter behind them.

Was the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2021 playoff berth a fluke, or has Howie Roseman quietly been building a sleeping giant on South Broad Street? Maybe it’s the former, maybe it’s the latter, but to free agents across the league and more importantly, their agents, it certainly feels like the Eagles’ time as a free agent destination, a status they benefited from post-Super Bowl, might have waned for now.

Case in point, the interest Philly had in Deshaun Watson, which was reportedly rebuffed by Watson and his camp via Houston Texans GM Nick Caserio in a matter of minutes, according to a former Eagles scout who goes by Honest NFL on Twitter.

Now sure, will some quibble with our anonymously honest former NFL scout for his assertion? You bet, there’s been a ton of weird historical rewrites over the last 24 or so hours since the Watson trade was announced, with some suggesting that the Eagles have been fully committed to Jalen Hurts all offseason – which, considering their interest in Russell Wilson, isn’t true – and others suggesting that Philly could still get in on a trade for a player like Jordan Love or Baker Mayfield – which feels unlikely, too – but it’s hard to go “All-In” on a player who doesn’t want to be there, especially when they have a no-trade clause.

If, just for the sake of argument, Watson was interested in Philadelphia, or at least had an openness to conversing on the topic, the Eagles would be foolish not to pursue gathering as much information as possible on a potential franchise quarterback, as even if they roll with Jalen Hurts for the next decade, it’s always good to know the most information possible on any given situation. Three of the teams that showed the most interest in Watson were members of the NFC and thus, could have become playoff foes for years to come, so understanding where Watson stands in such a situation couldn’t have hurt, but why invest the internal and external resources needed to fully vet Watson as an option under center if he wasn’t going to waive his no-trade clause?

Short answer? You wouldn’t.

Will DeShaun Watson’s disinterest in the Philadelphia Eagles backfire? Will he break the trend of quarterbacks wasting years of their career in Cleveland and finally deliver onto the people of “Believeland” their first true football dynasty since the franchise left for Baltimore in the 1990s? Only time will tell, but fortunately – or not, depending on your preference – the trade talks for a former Pro Bowl quarterback have officially come to an end… at least until the next one becomes available.