Los Angeles Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who shares an agent with Deshaun Watson, believes the quarterback has played his last down for the Houston Texans. ESPN has reported Watson is willing to hold out and pay fines to force a trade, but the Texans haven’t given in — yet.
Here’s a quick look at the latest updates on the six teams who might try to trade for Watson.
San Francisco 49ers: There haven’t been any new updates on the Niners’ front, but they are in a good position to wait out Houston.
Carolina Panthers: The Panthers are expected to make a “strong run” at Watson, but the Texans are not interested in Teddy Bridgewater, which might make it difficult for Carolina to pull off a trade.
Chicago Bears: ESPN has indicated the Bears have a massive offer on the table for Watson. Chicago is also said to have made acquiring Russell Wilson a top priority this offseason. If the Bears do land Wilson, that would obviously rule them out of the Watson sweepstakes.
New York Jets: Watson apparently knows that New York would limit its ability to build around him if the QB is acquired via trade, and that might hurt the Jets’ chances of landing the three-time Pro Bowler. New York has also been mentioned as a possible landing spot for Wilson.
Miami Dolphins: Two weeks ago, the Miami Herald reported the Dolphins “expect to be in the mix” if Watson becomes available. There haven’t been any additional updates from Maimi’s perspective since then.
Denver Broncos: The Broncos are expected to make a strong push for Watson if he becomes available. When asked about Watson, Denver GM George Paton said he can’t talk about players under contract with other teams but he did note that the Broncos are “going to be aggressive and we’re going to be in every deal.”
If the Texans do not trade Watson before (or during) the NFL draft, that might help the 49ers and Broncos emerge as frontrunners for a possible trade given that they have fallback options (Jimmy Garoppolo and Drew Lock), allowing them to wait out Houston if a trade doesn’t happen until late in the offseason.
