The Dolphins, Deshaun Watson and Franchise Quarterbacks
The great Deshaun Watson trade saga finally ended Friday with word he was waiving his no-trade clause to facilitate a deal with the Cleveland Browns in exchange for three first-round picks, a third-round pick and a swap of late-round selections.
It was about six months ago that the Miami Dolphins were exploring the idea of trading for the talented but controversial quarterback, something GM Chris Grier described after the 2021 trading deadline as the team doing its due diligence.
Now that Watson is on the move, there's a lot to unpack about the news from Dolphins angles.
Dolphins Could Face Watson in 2022
The first direct impact of Watson joining the Browns is that the Dolphins might have to face him next season because Cleveland is scheduled to play at Hard Rock Stadium.
Because of the 22 civil lawsuits against him alleging sexual misconduct, Watson faces the very real possibility of an NFL suspension; though the length of such a suspension is unclear, it likely would start from Week 1. So the later in the season the Cleveland at Miami game gets scheduled, the more likely it is that Watson will be available for that game.
Watson will join a pretty long list of elite quarterbacks the Dolphins will face in 2022, along with Josh Allen (twice), Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert and Aaron Rodgers.
Another Obstacle in Dolphins Playoff Road
Whatever you think of Watson (and we'll get to that later), there's no denying that he makes the Browns a legit contender in an already loaded AFC.
And it starts at the quarterback position, with the AFC now featuring Russell Wilson, Derek Carr, Patrick Mahomes, Allen, Burrow, Jackson, Herbert and Watson. And that's not even mentioning Trevor Lawrence, the 2021 first overall pick who absolutely has all the physical skills to become a franchise quarterback sooner rather than later.
Beyond the quarterbacks, the AFC has added some mega talent this offseason, highlighted by the Bills signing Von Miller, the Chargers trading for Khalil Mack and most recently the Raiders trading for Davante Adams.
A QB-Heavy Conference
Meanwhile, the Dolphins will be going into the 2022 season hoping (but not knowing) that Tua Tagovailoa can reach franchise quarterback level at some point.
And for anybody quick to dismiss the significance of having an elite (or franchise) quarterback, just look back at the 2021 playoffs, which featured Matthew Stafford, Burrow and Mahomes in the final four, and those three plus Tom Brady, Rodgers and Allen among the final six.
The two exceptions in the final eight have connections to the Dolphins.
One was Ryan Tannehill, who the Dolphins kept hoping would develop into an elite quarterback before finally giving up after seven seasons. Tannehill has enjoyed great regular season success with Tennessee, but not so much in the playoffs. And his performance in the divisional playoffs against Cincinnati in January had media members speculating whether it was time for the Titans to move on from him.
The other was Jimmy Garoppolo, and this is where it gets interesting. Garoppolo, of course, played for new Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel in San Francisco, and helped the 49ers get to the Super Bowl in the 2019 season and to the NFC Championship Game this past season, but isn't elite enough to keep the 49ers from trading three first-round picks to Miami last year for the opportunity to select Trey Lance.
The thought process, the hope in Miami seems to involve seeing whether McDaniel can duplicate the 49ers success of the past three seasons with Tagovailoa, who like Garoppolo has shortcomings when it comes to the deep passing game.
But there are side benefits to having a franchise quarterback beyond what happens on Sundays, and we're seeing it in Buffalo these days, as we saw all those years with Tom Brady in New England.
Put simply, free agents want to play with star quarterbacks. And Josh Allen is that kind of guy right now.
Don't believe it? Check out this very short video featuring new Buffalo defensive lineman D.J. Jones:
Had Twitter been a thing back then, we certainly could have seen a new Dolphins free agent saying that about Dan Marino.
That's the power of a franchise quarterback.
The Dolphins' Strange Dance with Watson
As reported everywhere, there were four teams involved in the pursuit of Watson this year: the Falcons, Saints and Panthers along with, obviously, the Browns.
After Grier said last November that the Dolphins had done their due diligence in exploring the possibility of adding a big-time talent last November, I asked him at the scouting combine during his talk with South Florida reporters whether the team would do its due diligence again this month, and that's when he made the famous comment that the door had been shut on the idea of Watson coming to Miami.
But why?
There were two clear reasons for teams not to explore the possibility of trading for a QB as talented as Watson: One was already having a franchise QB on the roster, the other was not wanting a quarterback (essentially the face of the franchise) facing 22 civil lawsuits for sexual misconduct.
But the baffling part from the Dolphins standpoint is that, according to some reports, they were ready to make the trade last November if Watson had settled all of the lawsuits — even with the possibility of criminal charges looming.
Now, let's establish this point right here: There would be no issue whatsoever from this standpoint had the Dolphins never pursued the idea of a Watson trade or said they weren't comfortable trying to trade for Watson because of the lawsuits.
And maybe no team should want Watson as its marquee player given the nasty allegations against him, particularly because of the position he plays.
But Grier never said it was the allegations that made the Dolphins back off, either last November or at the combine in Indianapolis.
And let's also realize that, right or wrong, Watson is not the first player who's gotten a pass to resume or continue his career just because he's good after criminal-type behavior.
Whether to take on a player with Watson's circumstances, that's for every team to decide, but the Dolphins were comfortable enough with the situation to do their due diligence last November and nothing in Watson's situation had changed when Grier told us the door had been closed.
And if we're talking purely from a football standpoint, there can be absolutely no debate that Watson would have represented a major upgrade and given the franchise its first bona fide franchise quarterback since Marino.
But now Watson is in Cleveland, and it's the Browns who'll have to deal with whatever backlash comes from acquiring him, while at the same time getting better at quarterback.
The Dolphins, meanwhile, will continue their search for a franchise quarterback, one that hopefully will come to fruition sooner rather than later.
