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ESPN's Proposed Trade for the Panthers to Land Deshaun Watson from Texans

Should the Panthers try to make this trade?
ESPN's Proposed Trade for the Panthers to Land Deshaun Watson from Texans
ESPN's Proposed Trade for the Panthers to Land Deshaun Watson from Texans

Over the last couple of weeks, Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson has voiced his frustration with how the Houston front office has handled the GM hiring and the process of hiring a new head coach. His frustration began last year when the team traded away Deandre Hopkins who is easily one of the best wide receivers in the game.

According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Watson has officially requested the team for a trade. The Panthers are a team that will be mentioned in just about every quarterback scenario this offseason following a disappointing end of the season by current starter Teddy Bridgewater. 

Following the news of Watson's trade request, Bill Barnwell of ESPN pieced together 17 trade possibilities for where he could land and he had the Panthers ranked the 2nd most likely to happen with the following proposal.

Texans Receive:

8th Overall Pick

39th Overall Pick

2022 First-Round Pick

2023 First-Round Pick

QB Teddy Bridgewater

Panthers Receive:

QB Deshaun Watson

2022 Third-Round Pick

2023 Fourth-Round Pick

To be honest, I'm a little shocked he included two draft picks to come with Watson to Carolina. That may be how this deal gets done without giving up a proven player like RB Christian McCaffrey or one of the two talented receivers (DJ Moore, Robby Anderson). The Panthers are not going to want to trade away any pieces of their young corps, so sending three first-round picks makes sense. 

Although that may seem like a lot, the value of those picks will drop significantly the moment Watson puts on a Panthers uniform. He is going to lead Carolina to more wins, which means those will not be top 10 picks. If Houston said we'll do the deal for four first-round picks, that may be a bit too much but it would still be hard to say no. Getting the quarterback position right is the biggest step to getting the franchise back to contending form. 

Is the trade proposal made by Barnwell one you can get behind?

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Schuyler Callihan
SCHUYLER CALLIHAN

Schuyler Callihan is the publisher of West Virginia On SI and has been a trusted source covering the Mountaineers since 2016. He is the host of Between The Eers, The Walk Thru Game Day Show, and In the Gun Podcast. The Wheeling, WV native moved to Charlotte, North Carolina in 2020 to cover the Charlotte Hornets and Carolina Panthers.