LA Chargers: 2 possible trades to acquire J.J. Watt
By Jason Reed
Most of the focus surrounding the Houston Texans right now is around Deshaun Watson. Watson wants out of Houston and is one of the five best quarterbacks in the NFL. Any time a top-five quarterback wants out, the national media listens.
He is not the only big name that could be traded this offseason, though. J.J. Watt is in the last year of his contract and very well could be traded from Houston as well. The trade rumors are prominent, with NFL insider Ian Rapoport practically confirming the rumors.
Our own Tyler Gallagher already broke down why trading for Watt would be a risk worth taking for the LA Chargers.
But what would an LA Chargers trade for J.J. Watt look like?
The best-case scenario for the Houston Texans is getting draft capital for Watt and freeing up cap space in the process. Because he is in the last year of his deal, Watt can be cut or traded before June 1 and not carry any dead cap hit.
However, with the salary cap going down in 2021, not many teams may be willing to just take on Watt’s contract. The Texans may have to take on contracts in return to make it work.
That is the boat that the LA Chargers are in. The Bolts could make a trade happen by sending other large contracts to Houston. Some players are worth Watt straight-up, others may take more draft capital to convince Houston.
I personally do not think a Watt trade is all that likely, but if the Chargers were going to pursue Watt and trade for him, here are two realistic packages that I could see happening.