Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is “Plan A, B and C” for the Panthers, according to Joe Person of The Athletic (on Twitter). So far, the Texans have been unwilling to budge and the Panthers have been noticeably quiet in the early stages of the offseason. That could all change soon if owner David Tepper gets his man. 
“We are very committed to Deshaun [Watson] as our quarterback. He is our quarterback,” new Texans head coach David Culley said recently. “It’s not a matter of me trying to change anyone’s mind. We’re committed to him. He’s a Houston Texan and we’re going to move forward with that.”
Culley added that “there is no contingency plan” for if Watson doesn’t show up for work. Still, Watson is the only plan for the Panthers and friends like Jalen Ramsey “highly doubt” that Watson will stay in Houston.
The Panthers can make a convincing offer, starting with their No. 8 overall pick. They could also include their next two first-rounders, plus more capital to jumpstart the Texans’ rebuild. As Person notes, Tepper doesn’t like to be told no — he kept raising his hand last year until his seven-year, $60MM offer for head coach Matt Rhule made the Giants back off.
Anyone wanna join me and invite Tepper to play some poker? Dude seems really bad at playing his cards right.
I saw on BR yesterday that the Jags have spent $1.4B in FA since 2011, & still have a losing percentage of 75%. While going through 5 different HC’s. Whomever trades for Watson will only be able to build through FA’s because their top picks will be used by the Texans. How do you build a winner surrendering so much for a single player?
Can you name the Jags QBs since 2011? Do any of them compare to Watson? No? Thought so. Jags will not be good till they get a QB. Look at the Browns. Kept building draft capital over and over and nothing came of it. They finally got their QB and signed/traded for other pieces and now they are a playoff team. Teams are built differently
I’m not putting Watson down, but the overall cost to get him will hurt his new team.
And Deshaun is locked on a masseuse, am I right? Serious power move by Watson to accost a young lady just to get out of Houston. Allegedly. I guess he chooses prison over the Texans.
Bring sued for sexual assault/harassment. This affect the trade value?
No, it does not. Being sued is a lot different than a criminal investigation, which may have affected it.
jjd002 Not really. He’s still a young franchise QB under contract, the most valuable kind of asset in the NFL. As long as he doesn’t get suspended or sent to prison, his massive trade value isn’t budging.
Even with 4 girls accusing him now?
Houston is just a very stupid organization. They can get a haul for Watson. Holding on to him is idiotic.
Idiotic? You lose a top-5 QB for a backup. You lose a ton of cap space that is greatly needed to rebuild. Not to say the loss of appeal of free agents who want to play with DeShaun. Before making any more knee-jerk comments, I would refrain from pushing the send button.
So, let’s say, the team eventually trades Watson… do they lose more interest/“appeal of free agents” if they….
A) Trade him before the draft and capture what those, standing in line are willing to give in return for the Top-5 QB?
B) Wait, don’t trade him, thinking that fining him for sitting out this year will give him reflection time and he’ll change his mind; losing all that option “A” could offer.
C) Trade him after the draft to show truly what an idiots Baby Huey & The Good Reverend are?
D) All of the above.
The Texans have reworked several contracts, traded bad players for equally bad players at a cheaper price. If…..when he sits out the team will take a cap hit on his salary, still have to pay him ~$12M at the end of the season (fines will be less than he makes), the ownership would deter “appeal of free agents” how they’ve handled this entire situation. YES, THEY ARE IDIOTS!
So after some consideration, I’m going to hit “send” and give Herm Edwards credit for yours and my use of his quote.
I wonder what plan D is…
“There is no contingency plan”
Signs Tyrol Taylor to a $12MM contract.