Deshaun Watson appears set to head to the NFC South, but it won’t be to the Panthers. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Carolina has been informed that it will not land the Texans quarterback.
With the elimination, two of the Panthers’ division rivals are the apparent finalists for Watson: the Falcons and Saints.
New Orleans has been aggressively clearing cap space through restructured deals in order to clear room to add the big-money quarterback. Watson currently has a cap hit of $40 million in 2022.
Atlanta, Watson’s hometown team, was previously referred to as a “sleeper team” in the negotiations. He previously served as the team’s ball boy, and has a prior relationship with owner Arthur Blank.
Active trade talks have heated up since March 11, when a grand jury dismissed criminal charges against the quarterback, who has been accused of sexual misconduct and assault by numerous women. He still faces 22 active civil lawsuits stemming from the claims. A full timeline of the allegations against Watson and his legal situation is available here.
