The Houston Texans could be trading Deshaun Watson very soon. According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, the compensation in a potential Watson trade between the Texans and Miami Dolphins has been agreed to. The one thing that is holding the Dolphins back is owner Stephen Ross wants Watson’s legal issues resolved before the trade happens. There are 22 civil lawsuits against Watson stemming from numerous sexual misconduct allegations. Ross has approved the trade, but the deadline to get it done is Nov. 2.
Watson has not played one game for the Texans this season but remains on the active roster. And if he’s not traded, it looks like he will likely be inactive for the entire year. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell spoke to reporters on Tuesday during the league owners meetings and said the NFL doesn’t have enough information about the 22 civil lawsuits to place Watson on the commissioner’s exempt list.
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“Obviously, the police have been investigating, and we don’t have access to all of that information at this point in time,” Goodell said, per ESPN. “We pride ourselves on not interfering in that and in being as cooperative as we can in order to get all the facts. I think that process is still ongoing.”
Another team that was rumored to be interested in Watson is the Carolina Panthers. However, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network said that Panthers owner David Tepper and the team won’t be pursuing Watson at this time. Both the Panthers and Dolphins are looking for quarterback help at Panthers QB Sam Darnold and Panthers QB Tua Tagovailoa have struggled so far this year.
Before the civil lawsuits, Watson informed the Texans that he wanted to be traded and no longer what to play for them. He has reported to the team facility every day since the start of training camp but has been inactive for each of the team’s seven games. Several teams have contacted the Texans about Watson, but a deal has not been made due to the asking price and the legal issues. Watson was selected by the Texans No. 12 overall in the 2017 NFL Draft and has been selected to the Pro Bowl three times. The 26-year-old quarterback led the NFL in passing yards last season with 4,823.
