On Tuesday, former Eagles executive Joe Banner wrote a long, detailed article for a website called "The 33rd Team" about his thoughts on where Deshaun Watson will ultimately end up in 2022. It included 11 teams, nine of which were deemed "unlikely suitors," and two of which — the Eagles and the Carolina Panthers — were called "real possibilities."
The article was formerly here, but appears to have since been deleted. The Eagles' section said the following:
- MORE ON THE EAGLES
- What they're saying: Will Eagles invest in top free agent wide receiver? Draft one in first round?
- Eagles 2022 free agency rumor and report tracker
- Eagles-only mock draft, version 3.0
Eagles: This leaves us with the Philadelphia Eagles, who are the most likely landing spot for Watson. Philly has three first round picks this year: their own pick, Miami’s first from the trade-up for Waddle, and the Colts first from the Wentz trade. They can create the cap room—perhaps not as easily as other teams, but they have the capital to do it. They will, however, want to restructure Watson’s deal a little bit, so the short term cap numbers are a little bit lower.
The Eagles are clearly a team that recognizes if you’re going to win big, you need to have a great quarterback. They selected Donovan McNabb with the second pick in 1999. They signed Michael Vick. They traded and later re-signed Carson Wentz. They even took Jalen Hurts with a second-round pick. Their team building philosophy fits. There are teams that will do whatever it takes to get a great QB, and there are others that will not acquiesce if the QB costs too much. The Eagles fall into the former category. They will be aggressive. They have the capital to do it and an owner who’s shown over time the willingness to spend the money if it matters enough. Plus, by the time Watson realizes how few options he actually has given the circumstances, he will think of Philly as more desirable than he thought a year ago.
The Eagles’ effusiveness and the degree of their enthusiasm about Hurts at the Combine indicates they’re trying to prepare for him being traded to maximize his value. If they can get Watson for Hurts, a first this year, and a first next year, it could go down as one of the best trades in NFL history. They’d be getting a top 5 to top 7 QB for $34M APY. If he were up for an extension right now, he’d get at least $45-47M. I can’t think of an example of a player of this caliber being traded.
So that's kinda weird. 🤔
UPDATE [4:15] — The article is back up, but there are changes. The old version:
The Eagles’ effusiveness and the degree of their enthusiasm about Hurts at the Combine indicates they’re trying to prepare for him being traded to maximize his value. If they can get Watson for Hurts, a first this year, and a first next year, it could go down as one of the best trades in NFL history. They’d be getting a top 5 to top 7 QB for $34M APY. If he were up for an extension right now, he’d get at least $45-47M. I can’t think of an example of a player of this caliber being traded.
And the new version:
The Eagles’ effusiveness and the degree of their enthusiasm about Hurts at the Combine could be an indicator that the team is trying to maximize the trade value of the player. I do not believe the Eagles would trade Hurts under other circumstances, unless it was for a high-quality QB. With Watson, they’d be getting a top 5 to top 7 QB for $34M APY. If he were up for an extension right now, he’d get at least $45-47M. I can’t think of an example of a player of this caliber being traded.
They took the part out about the hypothesized trade compensation going down as "one of the best trades in NFL history." Which again... 🤔
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