Three times Pro Bowl quarterback Deshaun Watson he is not happy now with the Houston Texans and can waive his no-trade clause if the situation gets worse. If that happens, the Carolina Panthers are a potential player in a possible takeover of former Clemson star, according to Fox Sports analyst Jason McIntyre.
McIntyre said Friday on Colin Cowherd’s show that Watson told people close to him that he would not rule out playing for Matt Rhule in Charlotte.
“While preparing for this segment, I received a text message from someone influential in the league saying that the team I heard is the Carolina Panthers, who is fast asleep Deshaun Watson“Said McIntyre.” Apparently, he’s telling some people that he wouldn’t mind going home. He grew up in Atlanta, about four hours from Carolina and Matt Rhule established a very good base there in Carolina … they have a lot of good offensive weapons.
“Watch out for Carolina. I’m on the Jets train (from New York). The league would love that. But watch out for Carolina.”
This is the second time this week that Watson has been mentioned as a “sleeper” option for the Panthers, who currently have Teddy Bridgewater tied to a $ 66 million deal for three years.
Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported this week that while Watson did not request a trade-off, Texans are willing to listen to proposals from interested franchises. They would need considerable assets in return, however.
Given that Watson was hired until the 2025 season, Texans have options to ease tensions with Watson. Texans CEO Cal McNair said recently that he spoke to Watson and wants to keep him informed.
“I understood that it was reported that Deshaun (Watson) feels left out of the process,” said McNair in part of a statement. “But, he and I had several visits and I understood his point of view for the meeting with the candidates. I talked to Deshaun about signing Nick and I look forward to him coming back when he gets back from vacation. ”
Watson’s relationship with the Houston front office is deteriorating, according to insiders, and many consider him invincible.
“The teams are calling,” said Dan Graziano, ESPN member of the NFL, this week. “Right now, Houston is taking the position that they still think they can fix it. They haven’t even hired a coach yet. They are waiting for it to cool down and they don’t have to change it. At the moment, people around Watson don’t think it’s recoverable and they will end up having to (change it). Look, the Jets are going to execute the same attack. They are bringing in Mike LaFleur as their offensive coordinator … if you are the Jets, you have to think about two first laps this year, two first laps next year.
“The way (Watson’s) contract is structured, he is expected to earn $ 10.5 million next year. If you switch to it, that’s the limit reached by Deshaun Watson. Yes, it rises to $ 35 million, $ 37 million after that. But next year, you would get Deshaun Watson for the price of a linebacker off the ball. “
Jaylon Thompson of 247Sports contributed to this story.