Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is on the verge of getting traded.
The two main questions at this juncture are simply: when and to whom?
By this coming Friday we will know one way or another whether Watson will be indicted on felony charges for various sexual misbehaviors. That is when the circumstances of his situation are set to be brought before a grand jury.
Should he not be indicted, a deal for him could happen as soon as Wednesday.
“As we previously have reported, multiple teams are willing to trade for Watson without the 22 civil cases pending against him resolved,” reported Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
“The current impediment continues to be the possibility that Watson will be indicted on one or more felony charges, and then placed on paid leave pending the resolution of the prosecution. (Last season, the Panthers were willing to trade for him despite the criminal investigation, but Watson wouldn’t waive his no-trade clause.)
“If the grand jury does not indict Watson on felony charges, he could be traded when the new league year begins next week.”
Assuming Watson emerges from the proceedings with his freedom intact, one clear favorite has emerged for his services.
“In particular, the Carolina Panthers are seriously engaged in wanting to trade for the three-time Pro Bowl selection, with one source characterizing their level of interest as ‘all-in,’” reported Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network.
“Panthers owner David Tepper previously hired an investigator to thoroughly look into Watson’s legal issues. Tepper has remained extremely interested in possibly acquiring Watson, who has a no-trade clause in his $156 million contract and would have to sign off on any possible trade, for over a year, according to sources.
“It is not a secret around the training facility of the NFC South franchise that the team is intrigued by the possibility of acquiring the former Clemson star.”
Watson currently stands accused of sexual wrongdoing by nearly two dozen women. A lot of disturbing DMs and text messages have leaked out in the last few months, detailing in explicit detail his weird purported sexual preferences.
Through it all, Watson has remained defiant. As has his girlfriend. In fact, it really seems like the two can’t seem to keep their hands off each other lately.
Why she dumped him. https://t.co/9nO6F0WV0s
— Game 7 (@game7__) March 10, 2022
It will be interesting to see where things go from here. This is shaping up to be one of the most important weeks of Watson’s life.
Will he ultimately be free to move past this ugly situation and link up with Panthers? Or will the justice system make him pay for all the things he has been accused of doing?
An answer should emerge one way or another over the next few days.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
