Vikings

Deshaun Watson Is Interested In the Vikings. But Should They Want Him?

Photo Credit: Troy Taormina (USA TODAY Sports)

One of the biggest offseason questions for the Minnesota Vikings is what they’ll do at the quarterback position. With Kirk Cousinsimpending $45 million cap hit, the Vikings need to decide whether to fully commit to him or explore another option.

There are several directions the Vikings can go in a bullish quarterback market. But according to a report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, there’s a way they could bring Deshaun Watson to Minnesota.

Vikings fans have to be drooling at the thought of Watson under center. Long bombs to Justin Jefferson would fill the skies. Kevin O’Connell will ensure he’ll be playing in a modern offense. And adding a franchise quarterback in his prime would make Minnesota a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

There are plenty of reasons why Watson would want to play for the Vikings. But the bigger question is if the Vikings want Watson to play for them.

Watson is a unicorn in today’s NFL. Franchise quarterbacks usually don’t become available in their mid-20s. Under usual circumstances, teams would be tripping over one another to acquire his services. From a pure football standpoint, he makes sense for the Vikings.

Since entering the league in 2017, only Drew Brees, Patrick Mahomes, and Aaron Rodgers have a better passer rating than Watson (minimum 16 starts). He also ranks second in yards per attempt, third in completion percentage, and seventh in touchdown percentage (5.9%) during that time.

While Cousins isn’t far behind, there’s an argument that he’s peaked as a quarterback. Unless the Vikings are hoping for him to become a late-career Rich Gannon, it’s a better investment to throw their chips in on Watson with the chance he takes his game to another level.

But while Watson is an upgrade on Cousins, more factors are pulling against a deal.

From a roster-building standpoint, Watson’s contract would be a problem. With a $40.4 million cap hit for 2022, trading Watson for Cousins would be a wash in terms of cap space. There is a chance that Watson would re-work his deal to get out of Houston, but the Vikings would have to make cuts elsewhere to make it work.

There’s also a chance the Vikings would have to include draft picks in addition to Cousins. If Minnesota were to deal its next two draft picks in this scenario, they might not have the draft capital or cap space to build a winning roster.

While the Vikings aren’t a wasteland in terms of talent, they still have to rebuild in several areas to become contenders. Watson has the skill set to overcome these flaws, but it would still be an uphill battle for a first-time general manager.

Then there’s the elephant in the room. Watson currently has 22 civil cases and a criminal investigation pending from sexual misconduct. Bringing in a player with Watson’s legal troubles is a bad look from a public relations standpoint, and he could be on the hook for a lengthy suspension.

But while these allegations are not okay in any circumstance, the NFL’s tolerance level differs between front offices.

The Kansas City Chiefs selected Tyreek Hill in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft after he beat and choked his pregnant girlfriend in 2014. While there was another instance in which he allegedly broke the arm of his three-year-old son, the Chiefs plugged along as Hill became one of the best receivers in the NFL.

Joe Mixon slid into the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft after a video surfaced of him punching a woman at a bar. The Cincinnati Bengals took the risk, and Mixon has developed into one of the top running backs in the league.

The Tennessee Titans drafted Jeffery Simmons in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft despite a two-year-old video of him punching a woman on the ground. Simmons has kept clean since entering the NFL and has developed into a Pro Bowler.

Minnesota’s previous regime was not willing to take these types of risks. When faced with the choice of Trae Waynes and Marcus Peters in the 2015 draft, the Vikings took Waynes because of Peters’ dismissal from the University of Washington. 

Peters became the 2015 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, a three-time Pro Bowler, and a two-time All-Pro.

We don’t have a large sample size of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s track record, but we can look back on the Vikings’ coaching search.

When the Vikings had the opportunity to hire Jim Harbaugh, they passed on him in favor of O’Connell. Harbaugh was the flashier name and could have helped the Vikings win right away. But O’Connell figures to bring more stability and could be the better long-term approach.

The same could go for the quarterback decision. If the Vikings toss out multiple first-round picks only for Watson to get into more legal trouble, the Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell era could be over before it begins. Even if the Vikings don’t keep Cousins, finding a long-term franchise quarterback could be safer than betting the house on Watson.

Minnesota’s main goal should be to find a consistent approach that helps them be a contender. Although Watson can help that goal, it will depend on how much risk the Vikings are willing to take.

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