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A rash of civil litigation that began last month has made a potential trade of Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson impractical, unless and until those 22 lawsuits can soon be resolved. Before the off-field issues emerged for Watson, plenty of teams were interested.
Via John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, eight teams had shown interest in a trade for Watson. They were the Jets, Dolphins, Panthers, Broncos, 49ers, Patriots, Bears, and Washington.
Things obviously have changed in the last month. The Jets will be taking quarterback Zach Wilson with the second overall pick in the draft, the Panthers have traded for Sam Darnold, the 49ers moved up to take a quarterback at No. 3, the Patriots re-signed Cam Newton, the Bears added Andy Dalton, and Washington signed Ryan Fitzpatrick. That leaves Miami and Denver as the only teams that, for now, haven’t made an offseason quarterback move.
Of course, some of the teams that have added quarterbacks could change their plans, especially since Watson could be facing a potentially significant suspension under the Personal Conduct Policy even if all cases are settled this week.
Over the course of the past five days, things have gotten very quiet in and around the Watson litigation. It’s possible, in theory, that the two sides are trying to work something out, with the realization that attorney Tony Buzbee’s clients may have no more settlement leverage than they have while the window to trade Watson remains open.
