Despite no clarity having emerged on the Deshaun Watson legal front, trade buzz has resurfaced. Long connected to a possible run at the Texans quarterback, the Dolphins may well have circled back to pursuing him.
The Dolphins are believed to be the favorites to acquire the embattled passer, Charles Robinson of Yahoo.com reports (on Twitter). The Texans do appear to be negotiating, per Robinson, who adds the Broncos, Eagles and Panthers have expressed interest. However, the no-trade clause that allows Watson to block a deal to an undesirable destination has impacted the talks and moved Miami to the front (Twitter link).
Although Watson’s value has veered into a strange place, with the 22 civil suits and a Houston PD investigation clouding the Pro Bowler’s football career, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes that a trade may well take place in the coming days. Watson no longer appears to be in the Texans’ plans. He is not atop their depth chart and has not practiced with the team in a notable capacity this year.
While the Panthers re-emerged as a player in these talks, they may not be as interested as the Dolphins. Carolina is not believed to be a serious Watson suitor at this point, according to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones and The Athletic’s Joe Person (Twitter links). The Panthers were perhaps the most interested in Watson earlier this year, but the off-field issues changed the organization’s thinking on this front. Carolina is rolling with Sam Darnold for the time being, though the team almost certainly would have moved on Watson sooner if the legal issues did not crop up.
Were the Dolphins to pull the trigger on such a deal, they would certainly draw ire from a portion of their fanbase — due to the numerous allegations of sexual assault and misconduct that surfaced this year — and it would represent a massive organizational pivot. The team was linked to Tua Tagovailoa ahead of the 2019 draft, when it passed on that year’s crop of QBs, and used the No. 5 overall pick on 2020 on the Alabama product. Tagovailoa did not prove to be a quick study as a rookie, though he was coming off a severe hip injury. Punting on the young southpaw so early would surprise, but the Dolphins were believed to be interested in Watson prior to the off-field trouble surfacing earlier this year. Prior to the lawsuits, Miami had prepared a big offer.
A Watson trade would not necessarily end Tagovailoa’s time in Miami, per ProFootballNetwork.com’s Adam Beasley, but it would seem the second-year passer would need to head elsewhere to continue his career if the more established QB is Florida-bound (Twitter link).
Compensation in a trade will obviously be a significant issue. The Texans have sought a package of three first-round picks and change, with second-rounders and/or proven players also believed to be desired by the rebuilding squad. It will be difficult to imagine a team giving up all that for Watson at this time, but thus far, the Texans have stood firm on their asking price — particularly in a deal involving an AFC team. The NFL refusing to place Watson on the commissioner’s exempt list has put the Texans in a tough spot, but unloading Watson now would be selling low — in the event the team cannot pry three first-rounders and change in a deal.
As a lifelong Dolphins fan, this would be my final straw with the organization.
The Dolphins could STILL acquire Watson and absolutely suck. Why? Because they routinely choke every year. Sucks to suck. #HereWeGo
They are a playoff team with Watson
They’re a playoff team with Tua. Just watch.
These rumors must really be helping Tua’s development. That can’t be good for their playoff chances, no matter who ends up as QB.
I wouldn’t trade much at all for him right now. I suppose the advantage is he will likely be on the exempt list so you still have the full contract.
The issue is do you really want those issues around your team…
I wonder why the league is punishing the Texans by not applying their usual solution(s) to bad player conduct?
How are the masseuse out there in Miami?
I’m sure Robert Kraft has given Watson the downlow
“The Texans do appear to be negotiating, per Robinson, who adds the Broncos, Eagles and Panthers have expressed interest.”
Considering they just acquired Minshew, man will I laugh if the Eagles trade for Watson. I realize Hurts would likely be a part of the package going back, but what a cluster that would be, especially if they traded for him and he was subsequently suspended for a long time.
I would have to agree with this statement. I realize Watson would represent an upgrade, but it seems like desperate floundering if that were done, especially this late in the preseason.
As a Bengals fan, I remember how close we were watching (and secretly hoping for) Tua a couple of years ago…Of course, we’ve had our own issues with Burrow since, but again (read:Bengals), as an outsider, I can’t say I’d be in favor of taking a moral risk on Watson…
I have to question the validity of these reports. I didn’t see any team employees quoted, just reporters. This feels like either click bait, or possibly the Texans attempting to drum up interest. It just seems very unlikely the Dolphins would be considering investing heavily in a situation with so many unknowns.
They’re the dolphins.
It’s quite a crapshoot. If Watson pays off all the women he’ll be worth a lot in trade – but if he goes to trial you might not get him in uniform for a couple of years (after likely paying him for all or part of that period).
First order of business will be looking for the Robert Kraft endorsed massage parlors in south Florida…
NO. NO. NO!!!!
NEVER.
We are finally back on track towards being a good team again that the fans can support and be excited about.
No matter what, trading for Watson would be the worse thing the Dolphins could ever do. So many fans would simply be done.
If the Dolphins are looking for a more established QB, if I were the Raiders, I’d have Carr on the table. A healthy Tua would’ve been the #2 or #3 pick. And he looked healthy last year.
Yea, TUA didn’t look healthy last year.. He looked uncomfortable and like he didn’t know the offensive playbook. The guy had no camp, he was rehabbing a major injury, the line was a mess, and WR consistency was not there due to injuries.
So the Dolphins pull a healthy FITZ and throw TUA to the wolves..
TUA deserves a full season before they trade for Watson… And I’m looking at this from a business perspective and not a “I feel sorry for TUA” perspective..
As they say, this is strictly business, nothing personal. I don’t remember any plays designed for Tua to throw deep, or really any plays that required a few second to develop. If the defense knows that every throw is inside ten yards, they will play it exactly that way.
I can’t see the Texans getting what they want for Watson, and I think the Dolphins would be foolish to trade for Watson. Under the Circumstances the only way I can see this trade going down is if Watson gets traded to the Dolphins for Tua. I am shocked the NFL has not suspended him yet for the season. You have 20 some women accusing you of misconduct. MLB had to be pushed to give Bauer Leave with all the backlash on him and it was only one woman who allegedly had relations with Tatis Jr and Clevinger. As far as the Texans go. They should not have retained this bozo Tim Kelly as OC. Their HC wants to run the ball and you could see a similar system in place as the Ravens run. Tim Kelly is Pass Happy and cost the Texans a bunch of games last yr because of that.
Bauer was accused of something much more violent than what Watson was accused of. Bauer also had a lot more leaked evidence detailing interactions with the alleged victim. In either case, the accused hasn’t been convicted yet, so taking legal action against the league would be very possible and problematic if the player got suspended before a conviction or civil verdict came in.
Watson also seems to be fighting a lot more, and more in public, than Bauer is, so the NFL would of course get scared by that fact. It seems to me that the Texans are keeping Watson buried purposefully so that he can effectively be on the Exempt list despite not being officially there. That gets the effect across without providing any framework for a legal argument in the future by Watson that he was suspended without proof of wrongdoing or an investigation by the league.