What Would the Panthers Have to Trade Away for Deshaun Watson?
Monday morning, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network said to not dismiss the Carolina Panthers from being in the mix for Houston Texans' quarterback Deshaun Watson. Teams like the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins have already made calls to Houston but for the Panthers to get seriously involved in trade talks, what would they have to give up?
Well, considering every team in the league knows Watson is unhappy with how things are being run in Houston, it may not take as much as it should. We've seen this before where Le'Veon Bell wanted out of New York but could not find a trade partner because teams knew he didn't want to be there and that they could try to pick him up once the Jets released him. This was nearly the case with Jets safety Jamal Adams as well but he was eventually dealt to the Seattle Seahawks for a pair of 1st round picks.
Houston has not made any public indication that they are willing to trade Watson but that doesn't mean they won't entertain any offers. For the Panthers, I think you offer something like the No. 8 pick in this year's draft, 2022 1st round pick, 2023 3rd round pick, and QB Teddy Bridgewater.
Why Teddy Bridgewater? Well, the Panthers won't need him if they are able to acquire Watson and the Texans will need a starting quarterback until they find their next franchise guy. It seems as if Houston is on the brink of blowing everything up and starting over, so Bridgewater would be a good placeholder at QB. He now has experience of being the starting quarterback in the first year of a rebuild and that would benefit the Texans greatly.
Is it possible Houston would take less? Yes, I think they would consider two first-rounders plus another draft pick, leaving Bridgewater out of the equation. But at that point, it would make sense for Carolina to just throw him into the offer anyway.
If the Dolphins or Jets strongly pursue Watson, they will be in a much better position to land him over the Panthers. The Jets hold the No. 2 pick and the Dolphins have the third pick and likely won't have to offer up as much as the Panthers because having that top three pick is enticing.
Should the Panthers fail to strike a deal for Watson, expect them to seriously consider drafting a quarterback in the first round of this spring's draft.
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