Texans Now More Open To Trading Deshaun Watson?

Jay Glazer of FOX Sports reported Sunday that the Texans’ stance has started to soften a bit and are now more open to trading QB Deshaun Watson than they have been throughout the year.

Houston wasn’t fielding trade inquiries throughout the offseason for Watson, even though he had requested a trade and made it clear that he wasn’t going to play for them again.

Glazer says that the Texans have already been offered three first-round picks and three third-round picks for Watson, but they had been holding out for an even better deal.

Glazer mentions that the Dolphins are an obvious team to watch for Watson, especially now that Tua Tagovailoa is expected to miss at least three games with the rib injury he suffered last week.

Last week, A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports reported that it appears unlikely that Watson’s criminal inquiry regarding several allegations of sexual misconduct will be completed before the NFL trade deadline on Nov. 2.

Perez explained that these criminal investigations take time and investigators have a lot of people to interview, especially when you consider that there are 22 lawsuits filed against Watson. The hope is that the grand jury will have a decision at some point in October.

Beyond that, Perez says there are indications that investigators are still gathering info. 

As for the NFL’s investigation, Perez doesn’t expect the league to conclude its investigation before the grand jury decides, considering that their investigators don’t get in the way of ongoing criminal cases. Potential punishment from the NFL will weigh heavily on the outcome of the criminal investigation.

Perez confirmed that there are at least four teams still interested in trading for Watson with the Dolphins still being the  “frontrunner.”

Perez admitted that there’s still a chance Watson could be traded before the grand jury’s decision. However, most interested teams who have had discussions about a deal for Watson want to wait for the criminal case to conclude. One source tells Perez that there’s at least one team open to trading for Watson before then.

Regarding the Texans, Perez reports that Houston still wants a major haul of draft picks in return. Watson would have to approve any trade and Perez mentions that there will be negotiations over pick protection, depending on the number of games he could miss. 

Prior reports have linked the Dolphins, Eagles, Panthers, and Broncos to Watson.

Watson, 25, was taken in the first round of the 2017 NFL draft out of Clemson by the Texans. He signed a four-year, $13.854 million with the Texans that included a fifth-year option around $17.3 million for the 2021 season.

The Texans signed Watson to a four-year deal worth as much as $177 million heading into the 2020 season, paying him $39 million a year. 

In 2020, Watson appeared in all 16 games for the Texans and completed 70.2 percent of his passes for 4,823 yards with 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also rushed for 444 yards and three touchdowns.

We’ll have more on Watson as the news is available.