The Miami Dolphins reignited trade talks with the Houston Texans for Pro Bowl quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Reports say that the transaction is imminent before the November 2 trade deadline.
Rumors about the alleged transaction started during the offseason when Watson asked for a trade.
He had the leverage to select his destination because his four-year, $156 million deal included a no-trade clause.
Therefore, he would approve the potential move to Miami.
Unfortunately, the negotiations died down, and Watson remained with the Texans.
Six weeks into the 2021 NFL season, he is yet to take the field.
Houston went with Tyrod Taylor and Davis Mills as their quarterbacks.
But the conversations about Watson’s transfer gained steam now that the Dolphins are struggling to win.
What’s humiliating about their five-game losing streak is that they allowed the Jacksonville Jaguars to end their 20-game losing skid.
The Dolphins are desperate for change, and they’d like to start the rebuild at quarterback.
A Third Team Into The Mix
This time, it won’t be a straight swap between the Dolphins and the Texans.
Instead, the proposed deal involves the Washington Football Team.
While Miami receives Watson, Washington gets Tua Tagovailoa.
In return, the Texans will earn the Dolphins’ first, second, and third-round picks in the 2022 draft.
Washington will also surrender an additional second-round selection in the same year to Houston.
This potential trade may provide enormous dividends for the three squads.
The Dolphins get the quarterback that can bring them wins while Washington upgrades from Ryan Fitzpatrick and Taylor Heinicke.
Meanwhile, the Texans can use the picks to continue their rebuild and offload Watson’s massive salary.
While the three-team trade makes sense, trading for Watson will be a nightmare.
A Publicity Nightmare
It would be hard for the Dolphins to defend this trade if it pushed through.
Yes, he is a better quarterback than Tagovailoa and Jacoby Brissett.
But the Dolphins will receive a ton of backlash by getting a player with legal issues.
It’s no secret that Watson is facing several sexual misconduct cases, the trial for which is yet to start.
However, the team cannot turn a blind eye to what he’s done off the field.
Adding more victories does not erase the accusations thrown at him.
The opposing team’s fans would most likely verbally attack him with the alleged acts if they let him play.
That distraction can either bring the team closer or make them fall apart.
The latter will likely happen because it’s hard to win in the NFL while dealing with external issues.
When Will Watson Play?
Given that Watson goes to Miami, the league office might suspend him until his dealings with the law get resolved.
But if the court decided against him, Watson might spend some time in jail, rendering him useless for the Dolphins.
That scenario would be a big waste of money and draft capital for Miami.
They could potentially trade away their future for a player who could not play for them because of a jail sentence.
Likewise, he can’t help the team win anyway if the roster around him is terrible.
Sadly, they can’t make upgrades because they will be trading away three early draft picks in 2022.
Wherever you look at it, a potential Deshaun Watson trade will bring more problems than solutions.
It would be better to let him settle these allegations first before he plays again.
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