The Texans recently gave tackle Laremy Tunsil a three-year extension beyond the final year of his rookie deal. The man for whom Tunsil blocks could end up getting an extension of similar duration.
Per a league source, Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is seeking a three-year extension of his own rookie deal, which expires after the 2021 season.
If that’s what the Texans do, the deal would put the 12th pick in the 2017 draft under contract for five total years, getting him in position for a third contract by the end of the 2024 season, with the possibility of the franchise tag for 2025 and, in theory, 2026.
The shorter the deal, the greater the risk the player assumes that injury or ineffectiveness will keep him from getting another new contract. The longer the deal, the greater the risk the player will be operating under a contract that becomes leapfrogged by other quarterback deals.
Some have wondered whether Watson wants to remain in Houston over the long haul. Earlier this year, one sports book had Watson as the favorite to become the Patriots’ starter in 2021. That remains highly unlikely, and it will be even less likely if the Texans and Watson eventually finalize the kind of contract that few teams ever give to a young, ascending player at the position.
Watson isn’t really ascending; he already has ascended. He’s one of the best quarterbacks in all of football — still to be unveiled in the Chris Simms top 40 quarterback countdown, which continues on Monday’s PFT Live, with spots No. 8 and No. 7 on tap for Monday morning.