The Houston Texans, as it stands, don't appear to have any plans of trading Deshaun Watson.
But if the Texans ultimately change course with their superstar quarterback, two teams might have a leg up on the competition in the Watson sweepstakes.
Veteran NFL insider John Clayton earlier this week reported the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos have a "good chance" to make a serious run at Watson if the Texans make him available for trade.
"The two teams I see with a good chance to do something for Watson are Denver and Carolina," Clayton wrote for 104.3 The Fan in Denver. "The Panthers don't seem to be too enamored with Teddy Bridgewater. They made him available in an offer for Matthew Stafford and now Bridgewater has removed the team from his social media.
"Overall, the great thing going for the Broncos is that this situation is going to take patience. And they can be patient as long as they have (Drew) Lock, who they're going to keep while they wait to see what happens with Watson."
The Panthers might prove to be the most motivated pursuer of Watson. Carolina reportedly is willing to do "whatever it takes" to acquire the 25-year-old, including adding superstar running back Christian McCaffrey to a potential trade package. The Panthers already might even be in the process of clearing up salary space with the idea of adding Watson in mind.
Clayton including the Broncos in his report is a bid of a head-scratcher. It certainly would make sense for Denver to go after Watson, but the Broncos seemingly don't have the resources to be labeled as a favorite to land the three-time Pro Bowl selection. Denver's potential trade package likely would center around the ninth overall pick in this year's draft, and Houston probably could find a more appealing focal point elsewhere.
But again, these negotiations can't even commence until the Texans open up the phone lines.
