When we are obsessively tracking a rumor as spicy as one of the best young franchise quarterbacks in the game possibly being traded, it doesn’t take much for me to get excited. It’s Deshaun Watson. I can’t help it.
To that end, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport has been doing the rounds today talking about Watson and his now official request for a trade, and in those discussions, he twice mentioned the Chicago Bears as a team that cou🍸ld get after it:
From NFL Now: The have received plenty of calls on Deshaun Watson, and that will continue. From the to the to , who'll make a strong push, to many others. One of the most robust trade markets we've seen.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet)
From : What's the price for QB Deshaun Watson? More than half the league is interested. If Houston decides to trade him, they'll get an epic haul.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet)
To be sure, Rapoport is not saying the Bears – or any of these teams, really – have the inside track or are already know to be the most aggressive or whatever. Instead, it’s a relatively modest point so far: the Bears should be in. They’re likely to be in. However you want to phrase it.
Now, are there hurdles? Of course. There’s the trade return, which will be challenging for the Bears to put together relative to other possible suitors with higher first round picks and/or more draft capital. There’s Watson’s no-trade clause, which will effectively allow him to choose his next team if the Texans do decide to honor his request for a trade.
But I’m just saying: the Bears are being mentioned here in the early going. And I love to hear it. As a start.
