Earlier today, NFL Insider Ian Rapoport reported that the Miami Dolphins are the leading contender to land Deshaun Watson.
From @NFLGameDay: What's the latest on #Texans QB Deshaun Watson as the trade deadline looms? pic.twitter.com/i2CSsJpFoa
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 24, 2021
Rapoport said that he doesn’t expect Watson to be placed on the commissioner’s exempt list and be able to play if traded.
However, it is being reported that another team has entered the Watson trade talks.
It appears the Carolina Panthers have seen enough of quarterback Sam Darnold and are talking about Watson.
League and team sources expect the Panthers to be involved in the Deshaun Watson trade talks.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) October 24, 2021
Earlier today, Darnold was benched in the blowout loss to the Giants.
“Just felt like we needed somewhat of a spark,” coach Matt Rhule said of the quarterback change. “Sam will be our quarterback next week. He will be our quarterback moving forward.”
Panthers owner David Tepper and general manager Scott Fitterer will only have about a week to make a decision on Watson.
The decision is a big one and will have large implications on the future of the organization if it doesn’t work out with Watson.
The interesting thing would be to find out if Watson would waive his no trade clause to accept a trade to the Panthers.
They would also have to outbid the Miami Dolphins who reportedly have been the most aggressive in Watson talks according to CBS Sports’ Jason LaCanfora.
According to LaCanfora:
“Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has been open to acquiring Watson dating to the offseason — with the player making it widely known he would not play again for the Texans even before the allegations against him became public — but the Texans demand for essentially five-to-six premium assets for Watson has been more than the market value among other teams.”
With the trade deadline looming, it will be interesting to see how everything unfolds.
