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Dolphins reportedly made the biggest push, but the Texans rebuffed their offer, opting to try again in the offseason. Two months have passed since that trade deadline and most of the teams that were in pursuit of Watson have only shown they need the quarterback even more now, and other teams have had such harsh setbacks that they may try to put together a competitive offer for Watson as well.
If Watson settles the civil lawsuits and puts the assault allegations behind him, as gross as it may be, plenty of NFL teams will want the quarterback in their uniform. The Texans will be trying to pit those potential suitors against each other as they prepare for the NFL Draft, which starts April 29.
Here are the teams that could make a push for Deshaun Watson this offseason ...
Dolphins
Watson wants to go to Miami and the Dolphins have had the most interest in landing the Texans quarterback since the start. After getting another good look at current starter Tua Tagovailoa in his second season, nothing has changed. If anything, the Dolphins likely are even more convinced that they need Watson because Tagovailoa hasn’t shown himself to be a franchise quarterback. The Dolphins had a stretch where they won seven straight games – Tagovailoa only started five of those, and here are the opposing quarterbacks he beat in that stretch: Joe Flacco (Jets), Cam Newton (Panthers), Mike Glennon (Giants), Zach Wilson (Jets) and Ian Book (Saints). In last week’s 34-3 loss to the Titans, which broke the Dolphins’ win streak, Tagovailoa was 18-for-38 for 205 yards with an interception and four sacks. Tagovailoa probably is an NFL starting quarterback, but it looks like he'll never be elite, and the Dolphins are ready to do whatever it takes to land an elite quarterback.
Panthers
When the Panthers were interested in Watson at the trade deadline, they were 4-4. Since then, they’ve gone 1-7, including a current six-game losing streak. After failing to land Watson at the trade deadline, the Panthers signed Cam Newton and he lost five straight games and played poorly (five interceptions with just three touchdowns) before being replaced by Sam Darnold last week. Darnold hasn’t looked any better than he did in his first three seasons with the Jets. In 11 games, Darnold has thrown 12 interceptions with just seven touchdowns. Since David Tepper bought the team in 2018, he’s been determined to find his team a quarterback, overpaying for Teddy Bridgewater, then trading for Darnold. He’s going to want to bring Watson, who played his college ball at Clemson, just 130 miles outside of Charlotte, back to the Carolinas. The Panthers will have a valuable pick to offer in the deal with their first-round pick falling somewhere between Nos. 5 and 9.
Saints
The Saints have been a disaster at quarterback since Drew Brees retired after last season. They’ve had to use four different starters – Jameis Winston, Taysom Hill, Trevor Siemian and Ian Book. Winston was good, but he tore his ACL in Week 8 and is set to become a free agent. None of the other guys are legitimate NFL starters. Even without a reliable quarterback, the Saints have rode their defense to a possible playoff berth – they need to beat the Falcons and have the 49ers lose to the Rams this weekend – but they have to be thinking about what they’re going to do at quarterback next season.