On Friday, a grand jury declined to indict Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson with any criminal charges related to the lawsuits filed against him by 22 women alleging sexual assault and harassment. While Watson still must deal with all 22 of those civil trials, this effectively means that the criminal aspect of his ordeal is behind him. That’s notable because many NFL teams have cited that as the reason they would not trade for the quarterback.
While there are much bigger issues to deal with regarding Watson and what he’s been accused of, his talent on the football field means there are many NFL teams who would still love to potentially get him in a trade to represent their organization.
It should be noted that Watson, who demanded to be traded before the allegations went public, has a no-trade clause in his contract, so the Texans can’t just ship him off anywhere. The NFL also announced last year that it was doing its own investigation into Watson, which could produce punishments, including a suspension or penalty.
The Texans previously told NFL teams they were looking for three first-round picks plus several assets for the quarterback and given the need right amongst many franchises, it’s hard to imagine they’ve budged on that. Ian Rapoport said Friday that he expects a “strong market” for Watson, citing the Carolina Panthers as an “aggressive” pursuer. He also noted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Seattle Seahawks, Philadelphia Eagles, and others are expected to inquire.
We know the Miami Dolphins have said they’re out, but their desire to trade for him during the season could also rev up again.
While there was plenty of discussion about the allegations against Watson and what it means that NFL teams are going to be falling over one another to acquire him, plenty of NFL fans and media members immediately started trying to figure out where the controversial QB will end up.
Basically mentions every team in need of a quarterback except for the Steelers. https://t.co/9tq9ujjLtL
— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) March 11, 2022
Ian Rapoport does not specifically name the Dolphins in this clip while listing four other teams as possible suitors. https://t.co/PtH9hOUUlz
— David Furones (@DavidFurones_) March 11, 2022
I think three things are fair to say at this point:
1 – Deshaun Watson is going to play this year, probably for Seattle or Carolina.
2 – It's going to feel pretty gross no matter what.
3 – I don't want to see a tweet about International Women's Day from his next team. Ever. https://t.co/BpLHkDsLKE
— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) March 11, 2022
Expect the Panthers to aggressively make a run at Deshaun Watson. All interested teams likely would want to sit down with Watson, who has to sign off on any deal due to his no-trade clause.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) March 11, 2022
Whoever ends up trading for Watson is going to have to contend with the negative reaction that follows. Unfortunately, that doesn’t appear to be a deterrent given how good of a football player the quarterback is. We’ll see how it all pans out and we would imagine that someone makes an offer soon enough to do the deal.
[ESPN]