Houston Texans put condition on teams to meet with Deshaun Watson
The Houston Texans are serious about moving quarterback Deshaun Watson – and they’re only considering serious offers for him.
Following meetings with the New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers and Cleveland Browns, ESPN’s Dianna Russini shared that the Texans required one condition from teams hoping for a meeting with the former starter. First, Houston wanted to see trade packages, then they’d green-light meetings.
“The first step for the Saints, Panthers, and Browns in arranging a meeting with QB Deshaun Watson was presenting a trade package to the Texans, per multiple league sources,” Russini tweeted. “Once Houston approved, only then did they meet.”
Given that Watson has reportedly met with all three teams, it must mean that they’ve all presented favorable terms to the Texans. Now, the teams have to convince the former Clemson quarterback to waive his no-trade clause. The Atlanta Falcons are also making their case to Watson this week.
Watson to meet with Falcons on Wednesday
On top of meetings with the Browns, Saints and Panthers, Deshaun Watson is also reportedly meeting with the Atlanta Falcons. The meeting is going down on Wednesday.
On Tuesday morning, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the Atlanta Falcons — who still have a longtime quarterback locked in with a no-trade clause — are a surprise candidate to land the Houston Texans quarterback.
“Falcons owner Arthur Blank is fond of Deshaun Watson from the days when the former Gainesville (Ga) High quarterback worked multiple years as a Falcons’ ball boy and developed a relationship with Blank’s family,” Schefter shared.
The biggest question mark regarding the Falcons’ rumored interest in Watson is what to do with Matt Ryan. Having Watson and Ryan on the same roster would not be plausible. Ryan is due over $36 million against the cap next season.
The Falcons even just restructured Ryan’s contract last week, creating $12 million in cap room. Ryan was set to count nearly $50 million against the cap prior to the restructuring of his deal.
Ryan threw for nearly 4,000 yards last season. It was the first time since 2010 he did not reach at least 4,000 yards in a single season. If the Falcons did acquire Watson, they would be committing to a younger quarterback that is also ready to contribute right away. Then, the question would become what happens with Ryan. He could be included in a potential deal, or he could be shipped elsewhere to another quarterback-needy team in the league.
On3’s Sean Labar contributed to this report.