Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson has officially requested a trade. ESPN’s Adam Schefter had the first report. Watson now becomes the second starting quarterback to hit the trade market this offseason, joining the Lions’ Matthew Stafford.
Watson’s trade request doesn’t come as a surprise after weeks of reporting that he was unhappy with the Texans’ ownership and front office’s handling of their general manager and head coaching hires.
An interesting wrinkle to Watson’s market is the full no-trade clause in his contract. That would essentially allow the 24-year-old to dictate where he lands.
For the 49ers’ purposes, they could be out of the running before they even get in if Watson says he doesn’t want to play in the Bay Area. However, if he does indicate a desire to play for San Francisco, it’d behoove the front office to take a long look at being as competitive as possible for the three-time Pro Bowler.
Watson last season completed 70.2 percent of his throws for a league-best 4,823 yards with 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions. His 8.9 yards per attempt were also a league-high, and came on the heels of the Texans trading his best wide receiver, DeAndre Hopkins, in the offseason.
