Might the Deshaun Watson feud with the Houston Texans be nearing a merciful end?
The abridged version is that Watson wants out of Houston as the Texans undergo a full-fledged rebuild. Watson has been showing up to camp but not participating in drills, and while the Texans are now amenable to trading him, the slew of civil suits and criminal complains against him for sexual misconduct obviously make moving him difficult — especially for what the Texans believe is the right price.
With preseason nearly over, though, the Texans are running out of runway. He’s making too much money to take up a roster spot and not play. He’s healthy, but, obviously, refusing to play. Teams have to cut down rosters by Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, so Houston needs to chart a course quickly.
According to ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio, a move could be coming soon to one of the two teams linked to him all along.
“Multiple executives from teams not directly involved in the discussions tell PFT that there’s mounting chatter that Watson will be traded in the coming days,” Florio wrote Saturday. “The two finalists are believed to be the Panthers and the Dolphins. (The Broncos and Eagles also had been linked to Watson.) If it happens, it would turn things upside down for whichever team gets Watson.”
Watson is an elite talent, but his uncertain legal situation is going to drive the price down. Both the Panthers (Sam Darnold) and Dolphins (Tua Tagovailoa) have capable enough starters, but Watson without question represents an upgrade over both. It’s basically a matter of which team feels like taking the biggest risk, because getting Watson would push them into the next strata of teams, but not if he’s going to end up suspended for a while.
Whatever the case, the Texans need to figure out this situation soon. And for myriad reasons, Houston is going to have to accept that it probably won’t “win,” no matter what happens.
