Heaps: Seahawks reached out to Deshaun Watson, who wasn’t interested

After the Seahawks made their shocking trade of Russell Wilson last week, they suddenly found themselves in the market for a starting quarterback, which put them squarely in trade rumors for Deshaun Watson.

Lefko: Drafting QB Malik Willis would explain Seahawks’ Wilson trade

Reports came out Monday that Watson had ruled out the Seahawks as a landing spot, however. So how much validity is there to the rumors tying Seattle to interest in Watson? According to former Seahawks quarterback Jake Heaps, now co-host of Seattle Sports’ Jake and Stacy, a lot of validity.

“I can tell you from Deshaun Watson’s perspective, I knew from early on that Deshaun’s camp and him were not very interested in coming to Seattle. The Seahawks reached out, the Seahawks were interested – heavily interested in Deshaun,” Heaps said during his show Tuesday with co-host Stacy Rost, citing “very close sources to Deshaun Watson’s people.”

Watson, 26, is still a member of the Houston Texans but sat out the entire 2021 season while facing lawsuits from 22 women who have accused him of harassment and sexual assault as well as a criminal investigation by the Houston Police Department. A grand jury declined last week to indict him following the police investigation, but he still faces the civil suits.

That hasn’t stopped teams from discussing possibly acquiring the three-time Pro Bowler. Seattle appears to have been one of them, and also appears to be out the running. Heaps said the Seahawks possibly entering a rebuild has a lot to do with Watson not wanting to come to Seattle.

“When you look at where (the Seahawks) are at, in their mindset, they are trying to find the next quarterback, they’re trying to find the next guy,” Heaps said. “… That did not work out (with Watson)… and one of the big reasons why I believe Watson didn’t want to come to Seattle was because of where the organization is at. It’s twofold. Are they in the midst of a rebuild? Kind of seems that way. No. 2, also from Deshaun Watson’s perspective, all the things that Russell Wilson may have had issues with the organization probably would have applied to him in terms of what he would have wanted, in terms of things being done within the organization.

“So I don’t believe it was just like a perfect fit organizationally to quarterback in terms of what Deshaun Watson is ultimately seeking and wanting, and other organizations obviously being more willing to give some of that control to Deshaun Watson. Also, (other teams) are able to give up more capital to get him in a trade.”

Jake and Stacy airs live from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Seattle Sports 710 AM Monday through Friday, as well as streaming at SeattleSports.com or on the Seattle Sports app.

You can hear Heaps’ full comments on Watson and the Seahawks in the Headline Rewrites segment from Tuesday’s edition of Jake and Stacy, starting around the 16:30 mark of the podcast at this link or in the player below.

Huard: Seahawks’ first four re-signings ‘easy pitch’ – now comes hard part

Follow @BrentStecker