Star quarterback Deshaun Watson has yet to take a snap for the Houston Texans this season, and trade rumors involving him have been swirling for months.
One rumor had him going to the Carolina Panthers, but they pulled out, and one journalist thinks it’s because it’s becoming more likely Watson will end up with the Miami Dolphins.
“…A lot of work was being done at those league meetings to get the word out to reporters there that the Panthers — ‘Oh, we don’t want Watson. We weren’t involved.’ They were involved and as of Sunday, it was Dolphins then Panthers,” Mike Florio said Wednesday on NBC Sports. “The Panthers must be getting very strong vibes that the Dolphins are going to get this deal done, that Deshaun Watson is going to choose Miami over Carolina and so now Carolina is backing off because they have to love the one they’re with. They can’t afford to face their fans, their players by saying, ‘We went and tried to get Deshaun Watson and it just didn’t work out.’ You have to act like you never tried to get Deshaun Watson. They may want to hire Mike Tomlin to come in and provide the press conference soundbite to make it sound convincing because otherwise, it won’t be.
“I still don’t completely rule out the Panthers. But they must have caught wind of something yesterday (Tuesday) or today (Wednesday) that leads them to believe this is happening with the Miami Dolphins and not the Carolina Panthers or they wouldn’t be working so hard to spread the word to reporters who will willingly pass it along without scrutiny, without doubt, without context that they were never in it when the truth is they were. As of Sunday it was, in my estimation, 75% Miami, 25% Carolina. Now it looks like Miami or no one. I’ll still be stunned if it’s no one.”
After some optimism that the Dolphins could return to the NFL playoffs this season, they are in the midst of a miserable campaign.
Miami has a 1-6 record, which is tied for the worst record in the AFC, and it has major issues on both sides of the football.
Second-year quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has struggled to live up to the high expectations some have had for him so far this season.
Getting Watson would surely be a shot in the arm for a Dolphins franchise that has seldom made the playoffs in recent years. He is just 26 years of age, and last season he posted one of the NFL’s highest passer ratings while leading the league in passing yards.
