A recent report indicated Miami is the only potential trade destination Deshaun Watson has approved.
That might not mean it’s Dolphins-or-bust in the Watson sweepstakes, however.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on Monday reported the superstar quarterback is “willing to consider multiple options” leading up to the Nov. 2 NFL trade deadline. Perhaps one of those options is the Carolina Panthers, who Fowler claims to be an emerging contender for Watson’s services.
“The growing expectation is Carolina could reignite Watson talks soon,” Fowler wrote. “Carolina was a serious suitor early in the 2021 offseason before sexual assault allegations against Watson surfaced, but Houston general manager Nick Caserio wasn’t engaging with teams at that time, sources say.”
Should the Panthers make a move for Watson by this season’s deadline, it will be the franchise’s second trade for a quarterback in roughly seven months. Carolina in early April acquired Sam Darnold and a 2021 sixth-round pick from the New York Jets in exchange for a second- and fourth-rounder in next year’s draft.
Darnold got off to a solid start with the Panthers, who won their first three games. But he’s come back down to earth over the course of Carolina’s four-game losing streak, and he was benched in Sunday’s ugly defeat at the hands of the New York Giants.
The Panthers have an aggressive owner in David Tepper, so it would not be surprising if Carolina goes all in for Watson upon approval.
