With all the shuffling (and non-shuffling) that’s already gone on this offseason, it feels as though the Carolina Panthers are just sitting back and watching everyone else find their quarterback. But that’s not necessarily the case.
In the latest update from Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network, the team has actually been doing quite a bit of work in their hunt for a passer. And a lot of that work has zeroed in on the Houston Texans’ Deshaun Watson.
“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,'” Wilson writes. “Panthers owner David Tepper previously hired an investigator to thoroughly look into Watson’s legal issues.”
Those legal issues, of course, currently have Watson staring down 22 civil lawsuits alleging sexual misconduct and assault. The next step in the process takes place on Friday, when a grand jury will be presented evidence from the 10 criminal complaints against the 26-year-old quarterback.
That, however, has hardly slowed down Tepper’s desire for the three-time Pro Bowler.
“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,” Wilson adds. “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, who is expected to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights according to KOA Colorado’s Benjamin Allbright, could be charged with a range of misdemeanor offenses including indecent assault, assault and harassment. He can also be charged with the second-degree felony of sexual assault, which is punishable by two to 20 years of imprisonment in the state of Texas.
