NFL notebook: Watson and Stafford look for new teams; 49ers great Rathman retires
What’s long been expected has become official — or at least public.
Houston Texans star quarterback Deshaun Watson has formally requested a trade, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who said the trade request came weeks ago. It’s a key development in the ongoing saga between Watson and the team, who have not been on the same page this offseason while the organization has searched for a new general manager and head coach.
Watson’s request going public could be related to Houston deciding on Ravens assistant head coach David Culley on Wednesday to replace Bill O’Brien, who was fired midseason.
Culley, 65, becomes the oldest first-time head coach in league history. He was also the only Black candidate hired during this year’s hiring cycle. Former 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who is Lebanese, was the only other minority candidate hired among the seven teams that replaced their coaches this winter.
Houston’s mishandling of Watson, a 25-year-old star coming off arguably his best season, is unprecedented. His angst comes months after landing a four-year, $156 million contract extension just before the season started in September. But Watson has reportedly become disenchanted with the direction of the franchise and not being included in the process of hiring GM Nick Caserio or Culley. It’s been widely reported that Watson’s preference was Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.
And according to ESPN’s reporting, the hiring of Culley won’t change Watson’s stance.
A no-trade clause was included in Watson’s contract extension, which means he could pick his destination if he decided to maximize his leverage. The Texans could decide against honoring Watson’s trade request. He could be fined nearly $96,000 for missing an offseason minicamp and $50,000 a day for holding out during training camp come summer.
That fine money could be a relative drop in the bucket to Watson, who has made over $40 million since joining the league in 2017. As nonsensical as trading Watson would be, Houston might ruin the upcoming season if it tried to maintain the status quo with Watson in the fold.
He’s arguably one of the best trade assets in the entire NFL. Houston would be wise to cash it in if Watson truly has no desire to ever play for the team again. Trading Watson would allow the Texans a fresh start with presumably a re-stocked war chest of draft picks.
So where does that leave Watson’s chances at joining the 49ers? Watson could angle himself to San Francisco if he chooses. But other markets in the South might be more appealing to the Georgia native, who played his college ball at Clemson.
The Dolphins and Jets have been discussed as possible destinations, while the Falcons might be in the market for a new quarterback now that they have a new head coach, Arthur Smith, and aging signal-caller Matt Ryan. The New Orleans Saints are prepping for life beyond Drew Brees, who is expected to retire, and could be a fit if they can find a way to create the necessary cap space.
Watson is the biggest name available on the quarterback market but not the only one linked to the 49ers. Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions decided to part ways over the weekend, which has ramped up speculation about Stafford’s potential fit with San Francisco.
Stafford would likely cost significantly less in a trade than Watson. He turns 33 on Super Bowl Sunday and has eight seasons with at least 4,000 yards passing (and one 5,000-yard season in 2011). Stafford has one of the best arms in the NFL and a case could be made he’d have a far better career to date had he not been stuck in Detroit. Despite his prodigious numbers, the Lions are 74-90-1 in Stafford’s starts since he was the No. 1 overall pick in 2009. He’s also still looking for his first playoff victory.
Stafford became the league’s highest-paid player with his five-year, $135 million pact in 2017. He’s signed through 2022 and would have a $20 million cap hit to his new team if traded. Watson would have a $10.5 million cap hit with his new team because his extension doesn’t kick in until 2022.
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan has said he expects Jimmy Garoppolo, who has a $26.9 million cap hit for San Francisco, will remain his starting quarterback in 2021, but that was well before Watson and Stafford became available. Shanahan didn’t close the door on going after a new quarterback.
“You look into every avenue and you see if there’s something out there that can get you a ton better it’s the same answer for every position,” he said in December. “But look at Jimmy, look what he’s done, look at where he’s at with us financially and we better have a very good answer if you’re going to find something better than that, because Jimmy’s shown in one year that he’s a guy who can take us to the Super Bowl and I also think Jimmy’s going to get a lot better the more he plays.”
Former 49ers RB coach Rathman retires
Former 49ers fullback and long-time running backs coach Tom Rathman is retiring from the NFL after 31 seasons, the Indianapolis Colts announced Thursday. Rathman worked for the Colts since 2018.
“Tom Rathman’s three seasons with the Colts caps an unbelievable NFL career that spans 31 years as a player and coach,” Colts coach Frank Reich said in a statement. “He made an immediate impact in our running back room upon his arrival and he deserves a tremendous amount of credit for the development of our backs into multifaceted players. We’ll miss hearing his infamous ‘squeeze it!’ from the sideline at practice and on gameday.”
Rathman was San Francisco’s fullback during their dynastic run under Bill Walsh in the 1980s. The 58-year old had 4,704 yards from scrimmage during his nine NFL seasons, including 320 catches for 2,684 yards.
He’s a member of the 49ers Hall of Fame at Levi’s Stadium and served as the team’s running backs coach from 1997 to 2002 and again from 2009 to 2016. He spent 22 seasons with the organization as a player and coach.
Rivera cancer-free, daughter says
Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera is cancer free, according to his daughter on Twitter.
Rivera went through treatment for squamous cell carcinoma located in a lymph node throughout the season. He coached Washington to a 7-9 record and NFC East title. The team lost in the first-round of the playoffs to the eventual conference champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
49ers Pro Bowlers make charitable donations
The 49ers’ three Pro Bowlers this season — linebacker Fred Warner, left tackle Trent Williams and fullback Kyle Juszczyk — were each given $5,000 donations from the NFL Foundation to help support youth and high school football programs in the Bay Area. The money has gone to three schools the team has worked with recently: Skyline High School (Oakland), Tennyson High School (Hayward) and Balboa High School (San Francisco).
The goal of the grant is to help these schools and football programs with the return of football and some of the struggles they have had due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team said.
This story was originally published January 29, 2021 at 7:47 AM.
