We heard last week that the Dolphins and Texans had agreed on compensation for a Deshaun Watson trade. Days later, and the move still hasn’t been made. Miami reportedly wanted a bit more clarity on the passer’s legal situation before green-lighting a trade. However, there may be another explanation for why negotiations have stalled.
Per Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com, the Texans have “caught wind of the growing possibility that the 22 civil lawsuits” against Watson would be settled. Since there would be no legal uncertainty, the Texans front office raised their asking price. According to Florio, “the increased demands caused the talks to crater.”
The Texans have continually been seeking at least three first-round picks for Watson, and last week’s report indicated that Miami was willing to meet that part of the deal. However, the two sides were still negotiating the other pieces in the trade; Houston reportedly is also seeking multiple second-round selections. It’s uncertain if Watson’s legal clarity forced the Texans to double down on their asking price…or perhaps request even more.
The NFL has not interviewed Watson, and his deposition in the civil suit is not slated to occur until after Super Bowl LVI. This has created a gray area, one that sets up the unusual and optically problematic prospect of Watson playing for another team this season before facing a lengthy suspension in 2022. Watson is not expected to be placed on the commissioner’s exempt list, and Roger Goodell confirmed Tuesday night the NFL does not have enough information on these cases to place Watson on the list, via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).
We’ll have a resolution on a trade (or non-trade) by tomorrow afternoon. It sounds like both owners are in favor of a deal; Texans owner Cal McNair wants to put the matter behind him, while Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has been one of the organization’s main proponents for a Watson trade. Meanwhile, Texans GM Nick Casersio is unwilling to trade Watson for anything less than what he perceives to be maximum value, and that could end up being the factor that prevents a trade from taking place by the deadline.
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