Deshaun Watson is in for a busy week. The Houston Texans quarterback is scheduling meetings with the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers ahead of Wednesday’s start to the new NFL fiscal year, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, with the Athletic’s Jeff Howe reporting that Houston has approved meetings for Watson and those teams to discuss a trade — meaning whatever trade offer New Orleans has made to the Texans was found acceptable.
Before he can talk with New Orleans and Carolina, though, Watson must testify in the 22 civil lawsuits filed against him alleging sexual misconduct on Tuesday. That should bring a lot of information to light as to the specific allegations against Watson, which have been previously reported by Jenny Vrentas at Sports Illustrated. How the public perception of Watson’s testimony impacts trade talks is anyone’s guess, but the Saints would not have taken the process this far if they weren’t comfortable with a negative reception.
But the public reaction is only part of the equation for New Orleans. Substantial draft picks and players will be traded for Watson, a 26-year-old three-time Pro Bowler in the prime of his playing career. Other teams beyond the Saints and Panthers are in the mix, too; these are just the first two franchise Houston has found acceptable trade offers from. Another team could swoop in and outbid them.
And there’s another factor to consider in the timeline: Wednesday marks the opening of free agency, when teams can begin signing other teams’ players to contracts. If this plays out too long, New Orleans risks missing out on both Watson (in a trade) and pending free agent Jameis Winston (who could be the best available free agent quarterback), as well as lesser veteran passers on the market like Marcus Mariota and Mitchell Trubisky. That would leave them with just Taysom Hill, Blake Bortles, and Ian Book under contract for 2022.
