Vikings Rumors: Minnesota a ‘sleeper’ to acquire QB Deshaun Watson

Among the latest Minnesota Vikings rumors is something about the team being interested in trading for Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.

It’s that time of the year when the Minnesota Vikings rumors begin to become more frequent and more outlandish. Most recently, the Vikings have been linked to controversial Houston Texans quarterback, Deshaun Watson.

On Saturday, TheGameDay.com’s Jordan Shultz claimed that Vikings are the “biggest sleeper in the Deshaun Watson sweepstakes.”

Shultz, formerly of ESPN, also stated that Watson would “consider,” waving his no-trade clause to play in Minnesota and that the Vikings believe “Kirk Cousins is not a Super Bowl-caliber quarterback.”

Would the Minnesota Vikings really try to trade for Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson?

Considering Minnesota currently doesn’t have a general manager or head coach, it’s incredibly difficult to believe this info from Schultz as anything more than just a rumor.

Trading for Watson is also easier said than done for Minnesota, or any other team in the NFL that would like to acquire the quarterback.

First, the Texans signal-caller is currently facing 22 civil lawsuits that accuse him of committing various acts of sexual assault. 10 criminal complaints have also been made against Watson and those could be handed over to a grand jury in the near future.

Aside from the legal mess that the 26-year-old quarterback is in, the rumored price to acquire him in a trade doesn’t really fit the direction that the Vikings are heading in.

Houston has been sent trade requests in the past that featured three first-round draft picks in exchange for Watson, but the team has passed on every offer so far.

Chances don’t seem very likely that a new general manager and head coach would be willing to give up the massive amount of assets that it would take to acquire the Texans passer in a trade.

Sure, Minnesota would land a talented young quarterback, but the assets they would give up in a trade for him would prevent the team from improving an underwhelming defense and a poor offensive line. The Vikings would be facing some of the same problems that they did in 2021, if not more.

But, once again, there is no reason at this moment to treat Minnesota being linked to Watson as anything other than just a typical offseason rumor.