The Houston Texans’ star quarterback Deshaun Watson is reportedly being pursued by several NFL teams ahead of the NFL’s trade deadline next week. Surprisingly, however, the Carolina Panthers are not among them.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Panthers won’t be making a move for Watson at the time being despite having a longtime interest in the Pro Bowler. However, this probably doesn’t mean they won’t be in the mix during the offseason if the Texans don’t trade him by then.
Rapoport added that Watson has only agreed to waive his “no-trade” clause in favor of the Miami Dolphins among the interested teams.
The Carolina Panthers have been pursuing Watson ever since the 26-year-old requested a trade from Houston in early 2021. Carolina reportedly made several offers for the Clemson product in the offseason, but neither of them managed to convince the Texans to deal the player.
The Panthers recently started showing interest in Watson again, which coincided with their four-game losing streak. They reportedly made several calls to the Texans, but the asking price that included at least three first-round picks was too steep for the franchise.
Carolina is expected to keep offseason acquisition Sam Darnold under center for the time being. Darnold led the Panthers to a 3-0 start but then experienced a slump that resulted in a four-game losing streak for the franchise.
