This trade would have had Al Davis all over it…
Whereas it is fair to say Carr is who he is right now, Watson’s career trajectory is only on the up. A dual-threat quarterback, he is the first player in NFL history to have 4,000+ passing yards, 25+ passing touchdowns, 500+ rushing yards, and five rushing touchdowns in a single season.
Watson is also the fastest player in NFL history to record 50 passing touchdowns and 10 rushing touchdowns (after 26 games). When Watson was coming out of college, his coach, Dabo Swinney, believed he was on the same athletic plane as Michael Jordan.
Al Davis always coveted the physical specimens when recruiting players. For better or worse. There was Bo Jackson, Marcus Allen, Ted Hendricks, and Sebastian Janikowski. But there was also Todd Marinovich, Jamarcus Russell, and Darrius Heyward-Bey. Davis would always go for the home run, the hail Mary, in play-calling and player selection.
Davis never shied away from trading for big-name players either. There was Jim Plunkett, Richard Seymour, and even legend Willie Brown was traded for. Then again, there was also Randy Moss and DeAngelo Hall to name two modern examples. To his credit, Davis never shied away from swinging for the fences. He took what he wanted, he was a fighter, and he was never content with average, or good.
Some final words on Al Davis and a potential trade for Deshaun Watson
In the conclusion to the NFL films’ documentary, A Football Life: Al Davis, Steve Sabol asks the late owner exactly what he meant when he said that the greatness of the Raiders is in the future. Davis replied that future members of the Raiders organization “could use the past as a guide, and can live in the history and the tradition of the organization.”
A trade for Watson would not only be in the best interests of the Raiders and the future of the franchise, but it would also be living within the history and tradition that Davis built. The perfect metaphor for the trade would be the vertical pass that Davis made the staple of the Raiders’ offense during their golden years. It would be the 80-yard bomb for a touchdown.
The Raiders should drop back, heave the ball down the field, and pony up the requisite capital to land Watson. They should go deep, get one of the best quarterbacks in the game, and saddle up to take it to the Chiefs for the next twelve years. Their future depends on it.
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*Top Photo: Associated Press/Noah K. Murray
Absolutely and categorically disagree with your rationale. And many Raider fans obsession with discussion regarding Receivers, Carr, and other Offensive options to the continued detriment of the defense is old hat and bordering on ridiculous.
Carr finished in the top ten this year in almost every statistical category. How about see how he performs with a solid line not continually beleaguered by injuries. By a formidable Defense that isn’t hamstrung by a bad Coordinator who can’t/won’t adapt systems to his players, and has had a weak almost non-existent at times back end for well nigh a decade.
Continually trading proven “character” players, e.g. Joseph, Mack, Murray, etc.so we can have more discussions about Receivers and other offensive weapons, when we can’t even coach up the talent we got in house? No Sir!
Maybe he would. But that doesn’t make it a good idea. Al made plenty of bonehead moves as a GM, especially later when it seemed that the NFL had passed him by.
So let’s look at this “deal”: In exchange for a QB that is a little bit better than your current QB, you double the amount of the salary cap allocated to the QB position, trade away your top draft picks for at least the next two seasons, give this 25 year old diva veto power over key hires for your franchise, and deal with his bitching and moaning when the team doesn’t win (because it won’t). Oh, and in four years he is free to leave for the highest bidder. Doesn’t exactly sound like a recipe for success, does it?
Al made a Quarterback trade already. The Snake to Houston for Dan Pastrana ( not spelt right)
This is f****** stupid ! Our defense is the worst in the f****** league and you wanna send 2 1st rounders and a 2nd rounder ! Our defense is still gonna be f****** terrible! Wattson went 4-12 with a better defense than the raiders have . We aren’t going no where unless we bulk up that defense