For those who are sick and tired of the Deshaun Watson trade rumors, we have some pretty good news on this front. No matter what happens within the next several hours, we can put these rumors to rest once the NFL trade deadline passes Tuesday afternoon.
Whether that means Watson remains a member of the Houston Texans or is traded remains to be seen. There’s been a lot of talk about the sidelined 2020 NFL passing yards leader being moved to the Miami Dolphins over the past couple weeks.
While nothing has come to fruition on that end, NFL insider Albert Breer from Sports Illustrated reported Monday afternoon that there’s a 50% chance Watson will in fact be dealt ahead of the deadline.
This comes on the heels of Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio noting over the weekend that the Texans and Dolphins were close to a deal. Miami’s interest in acquiring the quarterback came after suggestions arose that he’d settle the 22 ongoing civil cases stemming from sexual misconduct allegations. Once Houston caught wind that Watson might be close to settling, it demanded more from Miami in return.
Will Watson be traded without settling civil cases?
That’s the biggest issue right now. Short of Watson settling these cases at the last minute, they will likely act as a deterrent when it comes to a potential trade. Houston is still demanding multiple first-round picks and change for the Pro Bowl signal caller.
Meanwhile, any team that might pull the trigger for him would want some contingencies in the form of the picks it sends to the Texans being protected should criminal complaints be filed against Watson or the NFL suspends him under the guise of its personal conduct policy.
What we do know is that the Dolphins have been linked to Watson more than any other NFL team. It recently got to the point that current starter Tua Tagovailoa had to address the trade rumors.
When looking at purely Watson's on-field performance, there’s every reason to believe the trade market for him wouldn’t be limited. The 2017 first-round pick from Clemson has tallied 121 total touchdowns against 36 interceptions in 53 career starts.
We’ll see soon enough whether that leads to a team biting the proverbial bullet and taking a chance on the three-time Pro Bowler.
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