5 dark horse teams who could trade for Deshaun Watson

Despite Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock trying to say otherwise, the Raiders have seemed hell-bent on replacing Derek Carr as soon as they can. From interest in quarterbacks in the last couple draft classes, to trying to get Tom Brady and eventually signing Marcus Mariota to an expensive and incentive-laden deal to be No. 2 on the depth chart last offseason, it comes down to a question of timing. In some respect, credit to Gruden and Mayock for not making a major move just to make one. Now, they might get rewarded.

Carr has been good the last two seasons, with a combined touchdown-to-interception ratio of 48:17 and a combined passer rating of 101.1. But his ceiling is not high, and his cap number for 2021 ($22.125 million) is actually higher than the Texans would absorb by trading Watson or a new team would take on by getting him (see above). Oh, and the Raiders can clear $19.6 million of that cap hit by cutting (or trading) Carr. If they can move on from Carr, or ideally recoup some assets in a trade to send him elsewhere, the door would be wide open for an upgrade.

The Raiders’ biggest issues are on the defensive side of the ball, but Gruden has praised Watson highly in the past, and the opportunity to add a quarterback of his ilk at the peak of his power is exceedingly rare. As Gruden feels some pressure, even if it’s self-inflicted and not from owner Mark Davis at all, he has to be intrigued by the idea of unlocking his offense with Watson under center.