Washington Football Team: What a Deshaun Watson trade package could look like
Players the Washington Football Team could include in a Deshaun Watson trade
If Watson were to put together a competitive package for Watson, they would likely have to throw in one of their great defensive linemen and a player from their back-seven.
Parting with one of their D-linemen would hurt initially, but it may ultimately help the team out. Washington has made four consecutive first-round selections on the defensive line, so retaining them all would be difficult because of salary cap restrictions.
Washington will probably want to keep both Chase Young and Montez Sweat, so Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne would be the most likely trade candidates. Both are great players, so choosing which one to keep would be difficult. Payne has the rarer skill-set, but Allen’s impact on the field has been underrated while his leadership has been stellar.
More from Riggo's Rag
- What will Emmanuel Forbes bring to the Washington Commanders?
- Highlighting the best Commanders 2023 NFL Draft betting props
- 3 late Commanders rumors drawing buzz ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft
- 4 bold predictions for the Commanders 2023 NFL Draft
- Commanders News: Chase Young trade, draft day, CB riser and Sam Howell
Because Ron Rivera is trying to build a culture in Washington, I’d give Allen the nod to stay even though I prefer Payne as a player. Including Payne in a trade would open up more playing time for Tim Settle and Matt Ioannidis, so Washington would be well-equipped to replace Payne in the starting rotation, and extending Settle or Ioannidis would be cheaper than the contract Payne will command.
Among back-seven players, there are three or four potential starters that would make some sense for Houston. They are Cole Holcomb, Kendall Fuller, Kam Curl, and Landon Collins.
Holcomb would probably interest Houston the least of the bunch. The team already has Zach Cunningham at linebacker and he is a rock-solid starter. Next to him, Bernardrick McKinney has three years left on his deal and while the team could hypothetically part with him, he has largely played well when healthy.
So, the Texans would likely want one of the team’s defensive backs. Fuller would probably interest them the most given their issues at cornerback, but Washington may balk at trading Fuller for a starting quarterback for a second time. They don’t have a lot of proven talent outside of Fuller at corner — Ronald Darby is a free agent — so the team would probably focus on giving up one of their safeties.
Now, the big question for Washington would be, can they get Houston to take on Landon Collins and his contract? That would be a tough sell. Collins struggled in four games last season before going out for the season with a torn Achilles. Those injuries are notoriously tough to come back from, so Washington is probably stuck with him for another year.
With all that said, Curl would probably end up being the second defensive option that the teams would settle on. The seventh-round pick in 2020 was a stud as a rookie and outplayed Collins after replacing him in the lineup. He has great instincts and would pair well with Justin Reid in the secondary.
Losing Curl would be painful for Washington, but that would give them a chance to start Collins at the safety spot once again. They would need to add depth at safety, but they’re facing a tough decision regarding Collins’ playing time anyway. It wouldn’t be ideal to lose Curl, but to gain Watson, it might be worth it, especially since they have Collins available to try to replace Curl.