The Carolina Panthers have made a bunch of semi-minor transactions over the last couple days. And, wouldn’t you know it, this comes as they’re rumored to be a major suitor for Deshaun Watson.
On Friday, the Panthers cut three players — Tre Boston, Michael Palardy and Stephen Weatherly — to up their cap space to $28.5 million. Then on Saturday, they reportedly restructured the contract of Matt Paradis, which created more than $4 million in additional cap space.
And according to ESPN’s David Newton, the Panthers made the moves in an effort to clear cap space and dead money.
He then went on to report this: “The Panthers, per a source, plan to make a strong run at Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson if the Texans grant the former Clemson star his wish to be traded.”
Now, the Texans haven’t fully committed to trading Watson just yet, so this cap-clearing ultimately could prove to be, in a way, needless. However, if Houston decides one day it is willing to trade the franchise quarterback, the Panthers probably want to be prepared to make a move right away.
That said, the expectation is that Watson might not get moved for a little while as the Texans attempt to drive the price up.
