After being cleared on eight criminal sexual assault charges Friday, Watson is starting to garner interest from teams looking to upgrade at QB, though 22 civil charges of the same variety, still remain. According to ProFootballNetwork.com, the Vikings are one of the teams who are now showing interest. Carolina, Seattle, Cleveland, Tampa Bay and the New Orleans are the others.

The Minnesota Vikings have expressed interest in Watson despite the presence of quarterback Kirk Cousins, according to sources. Cousins, who has the largest salary cap figure in the NFL, is potentially available via a trade for the right price.

The Vikings appear to be an attractive potential destination for Watson given the presence of wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen and running back Dalvin Cook.

ProFootballNetwork.com (Aaron Wilson)

Deshaun Watson in a Football Vacuum

It was just a few weeks ago that the 26-year-old Deshaun Watson listed Minnesota as one of the three teams he was interested in being traded to. He’s said to like the offensive weapons (Cook, JJ, Thielen) the Vikings would have for him to work with.

In a vacuum, Watson is the best QB who remains up for grabs, even if he hasn’t played since 2020. His 4,823 yards and 33 touchdowns ranked 1st and 7th in the NFL that year, respectively. And his 112.4 passer rating ranked 2nd. But, we don’t live in a vacuum. And 22 civil suits alleging serious sexual misconduct/assault are still levied against him.

What’s Next for Watson?

Now that the criminal cases have been thrown out, Watson is expected to start civil depositions ASAP. He used the 5th amendment through the duration of his criminal proceedings but is expected to drop his right to silence as the civil suits play out.

Deshaun Watson could settle with his 22 complainants at any time, now that the criminal matters are resolved. And no matter how the legal process finishes, he could still be subject to punishment by the NFL.

The coming days will be important for Watson and his potential NFL suitors.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Watson Wrinkle

But according to Jeremy Fowler (ESPN), the new brass has another intriguing situation to consider. Controversial star QB, Deshaun Watson, who missed all of the 2021-22 season and is currently battling 22 civil sexual assault suits, has named the Vikings as one of two teams he’d like to be traded to. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the other team Watson is interested in.

Deshaun Watson has begun evaluating potential fits for his services in 2022, with #Bucs and #Vikings among teams on his radar.

From our post-Super-Bowl buzz file. https://t.co/xCMlP2gFpp

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) February 16, 2022

The Texans quarterback, who spent the 2021 season on the team’s active roster but did not play, has begun evaluating potential fits for his services in 2022, with the Buccaneers and Vikings among teams on his radar.

One source noted that Watson — who has a no-trade clause — is still early in the evaluation process, but he’s looking for the right blend of offensive system, coaching, talent and, most importantly, the chance to win.

The Vikings have intriguing young pieces in Justin Jefferson and Dalvin Cook, and they face a decision on the contract of Kirk Cousins, a 2023 free agent who has a $45 million cap hit in 2022. New coach Kevin O’Connell, however, conveyed a strong belief in Cousins during his interview process with Minnesota, relaying a vision for maximizing his skill set.

Jeremy Fowler – ESPN

Deshaun Watson Conundrum

In case you’ve forgotten, during his season-long absence, Deshaun Watson is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. He’s also just 26 years old. The numbers don’t lie, especially when you consider how bad the Houston Texans have been during much of his young career.

In 2020-21, Watson finished the season 1st in the NFL in passing yards (4,823), 7th in passing touchdowns (33), 2nd in passer rating (112.4), 3rd in completion percentage (70.2%) and 4th in interceptions (7). There is no denying his talent.

But neither the Minnesota Vikings nor their fanbase want to trade for a face of their franchise if he’s a serial rapist. And that is the overwhelming allegation, given the 22 sexual assault suits Watson is currently up against.

According to Fowler, DeShawn cannot be deposed for the civil suits filed against him until February 22, at which time everyone is hoping for more answers. On talent and football alone, of course the Vikings should be interested in Watson. But this situation goes above and beyond football.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Legendary football writer, Peter King (NBC Sports), put out a new edition of his “Football Morning in America” article this morning and boy does it have Minnesota Vikings Twitter fired up. Just when we thought the Kirk Cousins to San Francisco AND/OR the Deshaun Watson in purple trade speculation was over, Pete found a way to stoke both fires at the same time…

This must be why Peter King is a legend. (See “coming and going” tables below King’s quote for easier breakdown.)

Peter King Proposal: The Vikings send quarterback Kirk Cousins to San Francisco. The Niners send Garoppolo to Houston, if, of course, he’d waive his no-trade. The Texans send Watson to Minnesota. In return: the Niners send their first-round pick in 2021 (12th overall) to Houston, and they’re out. (So San Francisco would be trading Garoppolo and a one to Houston and getting Cousins with two years left on his contract.) The Vikings would send linebacker Anthony Barr and running back Alexander Mattison plus their first-round picks in 2021 (14th overall) and 2023, and second-round picks in 2022 and 2023 in exchange for Watson. Houston’s haul: Garoppolo, two ones this year, a one in 2023, and two second-round picks.

Peter King – FMIA (NBC Sports)

Going Out

Coming In

Blockbuster King

Wow… talk about a blockbuster. This would be the biggest trade a Minnesota professional franchise has pulled since we brought Herschel Walker in from Dallas. (Just the pure grandeur of the deal, not the trade itself)

This Kirk Cousins mock trade proposal is utterly mouth watering given it includes Kirk, Watson, Garoppolo and the 49ers…. but still feels feasible. The Vikings would clear desperately needed cap room in 2021 by trading Anthony Barr and they would also allude the Kirk Cousins balloon payments for 2022 and 2023. Kyle Shanahan, on the SF side, gets a QB he believes can win him a Super Bowl and only has to give up one 1st-rounder to do it.

Meanwhile, Houston gets a haul they could have only dreamed of, when first being forced to list Deshaun Watson on the trade block. THREE 1st’s, TWO 2nd’s and two starters for both sides of the ball? I think that’s slightly better than what they reeled in for DeAndre Hopkins.

A tear for all those draft picks..

Losing all of those day-1 draft picks would bring a tear to my eye… and I’d have to imagine that’s the way Rick Spielman feels too. But this is the type of package it is going to take to land Deshaun Watson. He’s that good, that young and plays that position.

I appreciate the creativeness King took to get to his conclusion. It adds an extra 1st round pick to sweeten the deal for Houston, while making sure the pick doesn’t have to come from the same team. The other two teams get QB’s of the immediate future that they believe in. The whole thing is genius.

At the end of the day, I’ve already predicted that Kirk Cousins sticks around the Twin Cities for a few more years, but that it won’t be under his current deal. If the Minnesota Vikings decide to take the easy way out of the 2022 and 2023 balloon payments built into Kirk’s contract, however, then this is the best mock trade I’ve seen rigged up for them to do it.

Especially for a Zimmer/Spielman led team that needs to win now for job security purposes.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

With the reports and rumors flying about the San Francisco 49ers possibly making a push for Kirk Cousins, it’s absolutely time to start looking at potential replacements for the Minnesota Vikings at quarterback. And lucky for them, if there is ever a year to make a change at quarterback, it’s 2021.

There are a lot of players available who could fill the new QB vacancy but some are certainly better than others.

3. Take a shot in the NFL Draft

If Kirk Cousins is traded then the Vikings will certainly get some draft capital back. It’s doubtful they’d surrender Cousins for anything less than a 1st round pick, so let’s assume they get #12 from San Francisco.

The Lions recently got two first rounders for Stafford, but that in-part because they took on the Jared Goff contract. Even if Spielman takes Garoppolo back in the trade, which would be a good idea if the QB of the future is being selected via draft, his contract isn’t seen as a negative like Goff’s. In fact, the Vikings could cut him for $2 million if they decided not to roster him at all.

If the Vikings can find their quarterback with the 12th (from SF) or 14th pick or package them together to move up, then this makes perfect sense. Justin Fields and Zach Wilson could be options if you move up. If you stay put, then Trey Lance, Kyle Trask or Mac Jones will be available to you.

Taking a rookie quarterback and pairing him with the hard nosed defensive minded Mike Zimmer could be a mistake. If the Vikings choose to draft their QB of the future, Zim might not be the head coach you keep. Eric Bieniemy is still available last time I checked, though…

2. Sign a veteran quarterback for cheap

Dipping into the free agency pool could be a cheaper option, but the Vikings would have $20M in Kirk’s dead cap to deal with, so the immediate savings would be less recognizable. This move would be for the long-term.

Here is a list of quarterbacks available in free agency that could potentially be had for cheap.

• Jameis Winston
• Ryan Fitzpatrick
• Cam Newton
• Marcus Mariota
• Jacoby Brissett

Do any of those players interest you at all? Maybe not, but if the Vikings roll with the same run-first offensive philosophy, then these guys should be able to slide in and produce enough to help win games. Meanwhile, Spielman and Co would be back on the hunt for their future franchise QB.

1. Go Save Deshaun Watson

If the Minnesota Vikings decide to trade Kirk Cousins then why not just go get Deshaun Watson and set up your franchise for the next 10-12 years? There is very rarely a young quarterback available, that’s in Watson’s stratosphere. It’s a huge opportunity.

If the Vikings can trade Kirk Cousins to the 49ers and get at another 1st-round draft pick to dangle in front of the Texans brass… then they’d immediately become one of the favorites to land him.

Is it unrealistic to hope Watson lands in Minnesota? Maybe, but so was Brett Favre, Jared Allen and Kirk Cousins. Huge moves happen around the league and have certainly come within the Vikings franchise, so maybe Deshaun Watson is just next in line.

Cooper Carlson | Minnesota Sports Fan

The Minnesota Vikings waited a long time for someone like Kirk Cousins. He’s far and away their best QB in a decade, easily exceeding the play of any QB to dawn the horned purple helmet since HOF’er Brett Favre wore purple and gold in 2009-10.

You could even argue that Cousins is the best QB to play for Minnesota since Fran Tarkenton, if you factor in the ‘Randy Moss effect’ that Culpepper benefitted from.

Greener grass?

Yet… fans across Vikings nation are spending the Super Bowl season window shopping quarterbacks. Why? There are a plethora expected to be available when the NFL calendar flips to a new year on March 17.

Deshaun Watson officially requested a trade from the Houston Texans this morning, but he’s only the tip of the iceberg. This crop of available offseason QB’s is by far the best in NFL history.

Deshaun Watson officially has requested a trade from the Houston Texans, per league sources. He actually did it weeks ago. Their new head-coaching hire, David Culley, has not and will not alter Watson’s thinking.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 28, 2021

There are roughly 10 QBs locked into starting jobs for Opening Day of the 2021 NFL season. This is expected to be an unprecedented offseason of QB movement.

My Over/Under of teams changing QBs this off-season is 18. I’ll go with the over. pic.twitter.com/hOKVRaE3Pj

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 25, 2021

I would take the top four QB’s on this list over Kirk Cousins. Now, Aaron Rodgers won’t come available and Deshaun Watson will reportedly cost THREE 1st-round picks in a trade. Still, even Matt Stafford and Dak Prescott could be argued as better quarterbacks than Kirk.

But if you consider the price tags and the teams you could afford to build around each one, this really becomes an interesting conversation. Hell, I know plenty of Vikings fans who would take Teddy Bridgewater for the cost savings and butterflies alone.

Alas… the Vikings won’t make move

Could the Vikings technically grab one of these QB’s? Yes, trade options are available if they really wanted to ditch Kirk that badly. But, it would be messy and finding the perfect partner seems unlikely.

Plus, as I made apparent to start off this blog, Kirk Cousins is a really good quarterback and one of the best in Vikings history. He’s certainly capable of winning a Super Bowl with a good offensive line and defense to help him out. Dumping him would go against everything the organization has done and said up to this point, too.

But unlike most franchise QB’s, Cousins hasn’t captured the hearts of the Minnesota Vikings fanbase. And I’d be willing to bet all of my shorted stocks that Kirk Cousins wouldn’t have gotten his extension before last season, had Spielman seen the future of availabe QB’s in 2021.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

There isn’t an unhappier quarterback in the NFL today than Deshaun Watson, who’s made it abundantly clear that he wants out of Houston and far away from anyone associated with the Texans franchise, including owner Cal McNair himself.

There is a growing sense from people in and around the Texans’ organization that Deshaun Watson has played his last snap for the team. It’s early in the off-season, there’s a lot of time left, but Watson’s feelings cannot and should not be underestimated.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 17, 2021

Oof. pic.twitter.com/e6XeDH82vb

— Kyle Crabbs (@GrindingTheTape) January 17, 2021

Well, everybody has been on the internet over the last week trying to figure out what it would take to get Deshaun Watson into their favorite team’s uniform. As of now, the most popular teams being discussed are the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins.

But from what we know right now, the Texans organization hadn’t even held internal discussions on what type of trade packages they’d want for Watson, until today. Cal McNair has been determined to change Deshaun’s mind.

As you can see from the reports above, that isn’t happening. So the way I see it, if the Minnesota Vikings want to make a move for the 25-year-old franchise QB out of Clemson, they have just as good a chance as any at this early juncture.

What would a competitive Vikings trade offer look like?

Whatever trade package lands Watson is going to be a blockbuster. Unfortunately for Rick Spielman and the Minnesota Vikings, they do not have the 2021 draft capital that other suiters do.

That doesn’t mean they can’t build a legitimate offer that makes sense. But it will have to include a player that perks the ears of the Texans front office. And out of all the hypothetical trade packages I have seen involving Minnesota, this one from Nick Olson (ZoneCoverage.com) intrigues me the most.

Why? Because the Texans would have to at least answer the phone for it.

Not gonna happen, but here's the pitch I'd make:

Texans give:

• Deshaun Watson

Vikings give:

• Kirk Cousins
Danielle Hunter
• 2021 Pick 14
• 2021 Pick 93

Texans get an above average QB, a young franchise cornerstone pass rusher & some picks to build around.

— Nick Olson (@NickOlsonNFL) January 12, 2021

Gotta give to get

There isn’t a Vikings fan in the world who wants to see Danielle Hunter go but this is the type of trade offer it would take for the Vikings’ to be competitive with others.

For example, rumors are flying about a package that the 49ers are putting together, for Watson, and it revolves around Joey Bosa. Miami, which is Watson’s preferred destination according to his own camp, has Tua and the this year’s 3rd and 18th overall picks in the draft.

But the NFL team with the most to offer the Texans by far, is the New York Jets. Look at this draft capital… If Spielman really wants to make Deshaun Watson a Viking, it’ll take a haul that can beat the Jets.

If Watson became available via trade, the Jets should call. You could trade 2nd pick this year (they still have 23rd pick), 1st in 2022 (They have 2) & 1st in 2023. That’s 3 first round picks. They could pickup extra pick/picks if they traded Sam. (My gift to sports radio)

— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) January 17, 2021

Cap situation

The Houston Texans are going to take on a pretty massive cap hit for 2021 by trading Watson but that won’t be enough to kill the deal. And if Rick Spielman really does want to get out from under Kirk Cousins’ contract, this is his chance.

Minnesota will take a massive cap hit if they trade Kirk Cousins… AFTER 6/1/2021. If they were to trade Cousins right now, it’d cost them $20 million in dead cap for 2021 (save $10M). If they wait until after June 1, it would cost $45 million of dead cap for 2021 (save -$14M) and another $10 million against the 2022 cap.

So I guess it depends on what Rick and Mike want. Do they trust Kirk Cousins, in what is a make or break year for their careers? If not, this is their chance to upgrade.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan