The Eagles had serious interest in Deshaun Watson and they had the proper ammo to outbid any other team to get him.
So, why didn’t he end up in Philly, then?
Because he wasn’t willing to waive his no-trade clause to go to the City of Brotherly Love.
This much isn’t news; it’s something that was originally reported back in August 2021.
But why, exactly, didn’t Watson want to come to Philly?
Originally, it was said that he really wanted to go to Miami. But the Dolphins were out of his market after firing Brian Flores.
Then it was said that Watson, a Georgia native, only wanted to play in the south. But that was proven untrue by his willingness to play for the Cleveland Browns.
It was said that Watson wanted to avoid the Philly media market. And perhaps there was some truth to that.
But the MAIN reason that Watson didn’t want to go to Philly?
His existing relationship with Jalen Hurts.
John McMullen pointed to that reasoning in a column for PhillyVoice:
The interesting part is why Watson was so steadfast in his refusal to come to Philadelphia from start to finish in this entire saga. The principles aren’t going on record anytime soon but the strongly held belief around the league is that Watson’s aversion to the Eagles had to do with his loyalty to Jalen Hurts.
Sources familiar with Watson’s sentiments pointed to the relationship built between the two players in the offseason through the connection of working with the same QB trainer, Quincy Avery.
I can tell you that this sentiment is one I’ve heard as well.
Many will view this development as a positive since it resulted in them not having to deal with rooting for the Eagles while Watson is on the team.
Others might be frustrated that the presence of a lesser quarterback prevented the Eagles from upgrading the position.
The sense here is the Eagles were not exactly thrilled they couldn’t at least get a meeting with Watson. But that’s how it ended up going for them.
And so the Eagles will move forward with Hurts as their starting quarterback in 2022, as Watson wanted it to be.