Carolina Panthers right not to take Texans’ Deshaun Watson bait
By Dean Jones
The Carolina Panthers were right not to take the latest bait from the Houston Texans as they look to trade quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Just when things got a little quiet on the Deshaun Watson front, a fresh set of trade rumors circulated over the weekend that indicated a deal might be imminent between the Houston Texans and the Carolina Panthers or Miami Dolphins.
According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, both the Panthers and Dolphins were the frontrunners to land Watson in the coming days. A report that was later quashed by respected reporters such as Joseph Person of The Athletic and Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports.
Then the Philadelphia Eagles entered the conversation despite recently acquiring Gardener Minshew from the Jacksonville Jaguars. Another story then surfaced surrounding Miami’s unwillingness to give in to the Texans’ extortionate demands surrounding a player who has some serious legal issues to resolve sooner rather than later.
When stating the Panthers weren’t interested in pursuing Watson at this time, Person added that it might be something the team is willing to explore providing matters away from the gridiron come to a successful conclusion.
Regarding Deshaun Watson, I'm told Panthers aren't interested and are rolling with Sam Darnold. Could be different down the road.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) August 28, 2021
It’s no secret that Carolina was willing to go all-in for the former Clemson star before all this came to light. They couldn’t wait around, leaving the Panthers trading for Sam Darnold and giving up three draft picks to acquire the player from the New York Jets.
If this was an attempt by the Texans to bait one of the aforementioned teams to taking the plunge, it appears to have failed.
At least for now.