While there hasn't been any noticeable movement on the Houston Texans end, a number of sports books have made The Broncos the favorites to land the services of Quarterback Deshaun Watson via trade with the Houston Texans.
Both FANDUEL Sportsbook and BETFRED Sports have the Broncos at +150 as the team the 3-Time Pro Bowler is most likely to take his next snap for.
DRAFTKINGS Sportsbook and BETRIVERS both have the Broncos with the 3rd "worst" odds to acquire the 2nd highest rated passer of all-time at +400.
The Texans appear to have their heels dug in at this point, but there are a couple of deadlines that might motivate them to look for trade partners. The new league year is set to begin March 17th, with "legal tampering" starting 2 days prior. Houston will likely have an almost impossible time signing any notable free agents if the Watson situation isn't resolved.
If they choose to ignore that date, the draft at the end of April creates the next, and perhaps more logical deadline. Assuming the Texans are open to a trade, making it before the draft allows them to know where exactly this years picks fall, whereas waiting until the season approaches or later, may yield the same type of marquee players that some teams would be willing to include along with several draft picks, if the team Watson is traded to makes a deep playoff run, the value of the 1st round pick is reduced significantly.
Arguably nobody knows more about the Texans than Hall of Fame Voter and writer John McClain of The Houston Chronicle. He joined Big Al & JoJo Thursday and began the Watson conversation by saying, "First of all, I can guarantee you this, the Denver Broncos ain't getting Deshaun Watson."
If you want to hear McClain explain why, you can listen to his interview here.
Here's what he tweeted following the Lions trade of Matthew Stafford to the Rams in exchange for Jared Goff, 2 1st-Round Picks and a 3rd Rounder:
While it's never a good idea to challenge the "Dean" of Houston sports, there are 2 things that are hard to account for; the first is the caliber, and rather the specific players teams might offer in addition to draft picks. Also, Watson has a "no-trade" clause that allows him more control of where he ultimately ends up.
My best guess is he stays in Houston, but until a final decision is made, everyone in Broncos Country, and really about 19 other cities who are hoping their team can land the 25-year-old Watson to help lead their franchise for the next decade.