TRADING IN THEIR CARR?

How Derek Carr could open the door to a Watson departure for Texans

How Derek Carr could open the door to a Watson departure for Texans
The Raiders are rumored to covet Deshaun Watson. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.

The Deshaun Watson sweepstakes may conclude with the largest trade in NFL history. On the latest episode of Locked On Texans, NFL National Insider Ian Rapoport reported that 25 teams have their sights on making a move for Watson — one of which is the Las Vegas Raiders.

According to Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Raiders are exploring options for quarterback Derek Carr that could result in a three-team deal that would send Deshaun Watson to Las Vegas. The Raiders will try to obtain two first-round picks that they will send to Houston.

In 2020, Carr may have had his best career season. He threw for a career-best 4,103 passing yards and ended the year with a 27-9 touchdown to interception ratio. His best game of the season came during a Week 5 40-32 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. In the win, Carr threw for 347 yards and three touchdowns. The Raiders ended the season with an 8-8 record — barely missing the playoffs.

While a potential deal to send Watson to the Raiders may come with a plethora of draft picks, Las Vegas may not receive two first-rounders in-exchange for Carr. First and foremost, the Raiders do not own a top-10 pick in this year's draft. In fact, their first selection does not come until pick No. 17. Las Vegas can trade into the top-10 given the number of teams in search of a quarterback. But most of the teams like the Jaguars, Jets and Panthers have their eyes set on Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields and Trey Lance — not Carr.

This NFL offseason may see several top quarterbacks on the move. And for a team that needs a guy under center, there are several moves that a team can make to upgrade at a cheaper cost. However, if the Raiders downgrade their asking price for Carr to a first and second-round pick, then maybe this is a rumor Texan fans might want to keep an eye on.

During the Texans' introductory press conference for new head coach David Culley on Friday, general manager Nick Caserio said they have "zero interest" in trading a disgruntled Watson.

"So organizationally, just want to reiterate our commitment to Deshaun Watson. He's had a great impact on this organization, a great impact on a lot of people, a great impact on this team, and we look forward to the opportunity to spend more time with him here this spring once we get started. And we have zero interest in trading the player." — Caserio

Coty M. Davis is a reporter for ESPN 97.5 Houston/SportsMap covering the Houston Texans. He is also the co-host of Locked On Texans, a part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Follow Coty on Twitter @CotyDavis_24.

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That's five straight losses for Houston. Composite Getty Image.

Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a tiebreaking two-run homer for his first major league hit, and the Chicago Cubs swept the Houston Astros with a 3-1 victory on Thursday.

Nico Hoerner had three hits and Mike Tauchman went 1 for 1 with three walks as Chicago won for the fourth time in five games. Hayden Wesneski (2-0) pitched 2 1/3 perfect innings for the win in relief of Javier Assad.

Houston has lost a season-high five straight and eight of nine overall. At 7-19, it is off to its worst 26-game start since it was 6-20 in 1969.

First-year manager Joe Espada was ejected by plate umpire Jansen Visconti in the top of ninth.

Crow-Armstrong was recalled from Triple-A Iowa when Cody Bellinger was placed on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday with two fractured ribs. The 22-year-old outfielder, who is considered one of the team’s top prospects, made his big league debut last year and went 0 for 14 while appearing in 13 games.

He picked a perfect time for his first major league hit.

Houston had a 1-0 lead before Dansby Swanson scampered home on a fielder’s choice grounder for Miguel Amaya in the sixth.

Espada then replaced Rafael Montero with Bryan Abreu, who threw a wild pitch with Crow-Armstrong trying to sacrifice Amaya to second. Crow-Armstrong then drove his next pitch deep to right, delighting the crowd of 29,876 at Wrigley Field.

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