The Denver Broncos will certainly be exploring options at the quarterback position in the 2021 offseason, even if it ultimately means the team decides to land back on Drew Lock as the top option for 2021.
There are some veteran options potentially available in the 2021 offseason, including Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Watson, an established star in the NFL today, would be the rarest instance of a player traded in NFL history. The Denver Broncos have the only really comparable situation having traded Jay Cutler ahead of the 2009 season after he and head coach Josh McDaniels butted heads in such a way that led to Cutler demanding his way out.
At the time, Cutler was traded for two first-round picks, a third-round pick, and quarterback Kyle Orton.
Any trade for Watson would be for an unprecedented and historic value with five years on his brand-new contract at the age of 25 with MVP-caliber abilities right now.
The Denver Broncos obviously come up as an option for Watson among fans and NFL pundits because at this point, no one really knows what the future holds for the current starter Drew Lock.
According to longtime Denver-based reporter, columnist, and TV personality Woody Paige, the Broncos are not on Watson’s preferred trade list.
What I was told days ago by a trusted NFL source was Watson had zero interest in Denver and Stafford wanted warm weather. Someone should tell him Denver has 300 days of sunshine. Don’t mention the other 65.
— Woody Paige (@woodypaige) January 29, 2021
For Denver Broncos fans who merely want the team to be a desirable destination for these veteran quarterbacks, this is a gut punch followed by a knockout punch to the jaw.
Zero interest?
Zero interest on the part of Watson is pretty out of hand, if we’re being honest. Taking Woody at his word here, zero interest from Stafford would mean that Deshaun Watson has zero interest in throwing to the Broncos’ star-studded receiver group of Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, Noah Fant, Tim Patrick, KJ Hamler, and Albert Okwuegbunam with Melvin Gordon and hopefully Phillip Lindsay back at running back.
Not to mention, the teams that are apparently “preferred” on Watson’s list are the Jets and Dolphins, and if you were to combine the best of the skill talent of those teams, you would still unquestionably take Denver’s group.
At any rate, Watson’s decision specifically is much more charged by ownership and coaching, which is a major reason he wants out of what appears to be a very dysfunctional situation in Houston.
If that’s the case, the Jets make sense having brought in Robert Saleh as their new head coach, a guy who really has the feel of a culture changer. Brian Flores has done a tremendous job changing the culture in Miami already, and has them knocking on the door of the playoffs.
Watson potentially having zero interest in Denver likely has more to do with the coaching situations he finds preferable in Miami or New York (not to mention the market) as well as the fact that those two destinations — not coincidentally — provide him the best opportunity at actually getting traded with their draft capital.
The Jets have four first-round selections (including 2nd overall) in the next two draft classes. The Dolphins have three, plus multiple second-round picks in 2021 as well as quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to possibly include in a deal.
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I don’t know if Broncos Country should take this one overly personal, as the team just doesn’t have the assets in the NFL Draft to acquire Watson even if they wanted to.