The Saints and Panthers have extended trade offers to the Texans for QB Deshaun Watson, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports. Watson, who wants to make a fully informed decision before waiving his no-trade clause, will meet with both teams in the near future. (Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network notes that Houston will grant permission for those meetings.)
After a grand jury decided against indicting Watson on Friday, trade rumors predictably picked up in a big way. Carolina has been seen as something of a front-runner for the three-time Pro Bowler since the Dolphins bowed out of the race, but there are now up to 10 teams involved in the bidding.
So while the details of the Saints’ and Panthers’ offers are not yet known, Pelissero says Houston’s asking price — three first-round picks and more — has not changed, and multiple teams are now willing to pay that price. New Orleans and Carolina both have one first-round pick in the 2022 draft, with the Panthers’ No. 6 overall selection obviously quite a bit more valuable than the Saints’ No. 18 selection.
We have known that Panthers owner David Tepper has been willing to pull the trigger on a Watson deal despite the inevitable PR backlash, and Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com says the same is true of Saints ownership. That probably goes without saying in light of the fact that New Orleans has extended a trade offer, but it’s worth noting that, according to Duncan, the franchise has done “extensive background checks” on Watson and is comfortable with its findings.
With free agency opening this week, there is a sense of urgency to these proceedings, at least for some teams. While the Panthers have not been connected to any free-agent passers or second-tier trade targets and may pivot to the draft if their Watson pursuit is unsuccessful, New Orleans is interested in re-signing Jameis Winston and doubtlessly wants to get some clarity on where things stand with Watson before Winston is eligible to sign elsewhere. But since Watson wants to take his time and meet with interested clubs, it looks like the process will take a little longer than certain organizations would like.
Texans GM Nick Caserio has been very methodical in this process, and he is not going to rush things now that he has so much leverage. Soon enough, his patience will pay off in the form of a massive influx of draft capital to accelerate Houston’s rebuilding efforts.
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