Following Houston's decision to double down on their front office hierarchy and disregard Deshaun Watson's wishes, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports a growing likelihood that the Texans will eventually trade their franchise quarterback.

By retaining controversial vice president Jack Easterby, who began his tenure with the organization as a “character coach” before gaining control of all football-related decisions earlier this season, a rift has grown between the organization and Deshaun Watson. With the QB having already expressed his doubts over the VP's ability to lay a winning foundation in Houston, Easterby further complicated matters by hiring former Patriot executive Nick Caserio as general manager over Watson's wishes.

While team owner Cal McNair initially hoped to strengthen the bond between himself and Watson by asking for the quarterback's active participation in the search process for a GM and head coach, Easterby's continued disregard of Watson's recommendations has brought the situation to a breaking point. Though Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has reported that the QB has yet to formally request a trade, it seems only a matter of time before events conspire to get there.

Once Watson and his camp make that decision, the presence of his no-trade clause will force the Texans to thread a needle between satisfying the quarterbacks' wishes on his preferred destination and collecting adequate value in return. With all but a few teams likely to inquire about obtaining the All-Pro play-caller, we've gone ahead and narrowed Houston's choices down for them.

Here are our three best trade options for the Houston Texans as they look to offload Deshaun Watson.

3. Chicago Bears: three 1st-round draft picks, two 2nd-round draft picks, one 3rd-round draft pick

While blockbuster trades in the NFL are notoriously tricky, given the presence of the hard cap and the difficulty in matching salaries that are not guaranteed, Deshaun Watson's is a rare case in which the outgoing star player has a workable salary hit in the near term. With his contract expected only to carry a base of $10 million in 2021, teams across the league can absorb the quarterback's salary with minimal cap machinations. At least for one season.

The potential roadblock in completing a trade for the QB will be his cap hit in 2022 and 2023, respectively. With both years taking north of $40 million in cap space, the organization receiving Watson must have confidence that its current roster–plus the quarterback–is capable of contending with a minimal infusion of talent in either free agency or the draft.

Enter the Chicago Bears. While the team is an obvious trade partner for the Texans, thanks to their continued pursuit of a franchise quarterback, the Bears are also led by an aggressive general manager in Ryan Pace, who has never shied away from making similar transactions in the past. Having already passed on Watson once in favor of Mitch Trubisky during the 2017 NFL Draft (sorry, Bears fans) Pace is not likely to let the play-caller get away from him twice in a single lifetime.

Given that Chicago is one of the few franchises in the league with all of their draft picks in 2021 and beyond, the Bears can offer a bouquet of draft compensation that few can match. Making the offer more appealing for the Texans is the possibility that Chicago guts its roster to accommodate Deshaun Watson's cap hit in later years. With the Bears already projected to be nearly $10 million over the cap in both 2022 and 2023, Chicago could face the difficult decision of cutting someone like Khalil Mack–who carries only a $2.6 million dead hit in 2023–to get their finances in order.

Should the Bears collapse under the weight of their cap sheet, the Texans could stand in line to benefit from Chicago's waning production via draft picks that would suddenly rise in value. While the Bears will hope that Deshaun Watson would guarantee a backstop that prevented them from falling out of contention, the Texans' performance over the last two years has proven that no single player can elevate a team to postseason contention on a roster bereft of talent.

Trading a star quarterback is always a risky proposition with a significant upside for complete disaster for both teams involved. Providing Chicago a chance to chase an elusive Super Bowl while allowing the Texans to rebuild around assets that could become better with time might be the best one of the best options either could do.

Deshaun Watson, Texans

2. New York Jets: Sam Darnold, two 1st-round draft picks in 2021, two 1st-round draft picks in 2022

Every  Jets fan entered the 2020 NFL season, hoping that it would conclude with the New York franchise in possession of the top overall pick in April's Draft and the right to select Trevor Lawrence as their quarterback of the future. While things didn't go according to plan for the Jets or their fans, it's fair to assume that both would be satisfied with Deshaun Watson as a consolation prize.

With the Jets in possession of multiple first-round picks over the next two seasons thanks to their rebuilding effort, New York can entice Houston not only with draft equity but a bridge starter in Sam Darnold. Though he is unlikely ever to reach the heights imagined for him when he was a prospect, Darnold has shown that he can be a serviceable starter in the league. While it may not seem exciting, even the possibility that the Texans could eventually flip Darnold for another late-round draft pick has to be a consideration for a team in need of a full rebuild.

As for Deshaun Watson, the Jets would not only represent a fresh start but the chance to work with newly-installed head coach Robert Saleh. One of the coaching candidates Deshaun Watson was reportedly most in favor of bringing to Houston, Saleh's presence might be the selling point Watson requires to waive his no-trade clause. For a Jets team known for its dysfunction, the chance to be the “stable” franchise in trade talks is a win itself.

3. Miami Dolphins: Tua Tagovailoa, two 1st-round 2021 draft picks

Sometimes the most obvious choice is also the best one. Given that the Dolphins are reportedly the preferred destination by Watson and his camp, there is little question about the quarterback's willingness to waive his no-trade clause.

In all likelihood, the question that will determine whether or not this trade comes to fruition will be the Texans' opinion of Tagovailoa. If Houston believes that Tagovailoa can fulfill his potential, then the Texans can settle knowing they possess a player you hope to acquire with a high draft pick. If he can't, then it's difficult to argue that the Dolphins trade package is more valuable than the number of draft assets other teams will throw at Houston.

For Miami to be involved in Deshaun Watson trade discussions precisely because of the uncertainty surrounding Tua, the fact that another team will have to puzzle out his potential to complete the deal is the biggest irony of all.