Report: Houston Texans deny division rival's request to meet with Deshaun Watson
Deshaun Watson was cleared of being brought on criminal charges on Friday, instantly making him the hottest quarterback name available on the trade market. Plenty of teams are attempting to acquire Watson by setting up meetings and convincing him to waive his no-trade clause.
One team attempting to get involved, according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, is the Indianapolis Colts. After trading Carson Wentz away to the Washington Commanders, the Colts are attempting to once again find a franchise quarterback and wanted to meet with Watson to discuss the possibility.
However, Houston will not let the two sides meet, with Schefter saying the organization is not comfortable trading Watson inside of their division. A few other teams will get to meet with Watson but Indianapolis will not be one of them.
“Houston has declined Indianapolis’ attempt to speak with Deshaun Watson, per source,” Schefter said via Twitter. “Houston comfortable trading Watson – just not in the AFC South.”
Watson has played against the Colts on six occasions, only coming out victorious twice. He has a better record against both the Jacksonville Jaguars (6-1) and Tennessee Titans (3-3), the other two teams within the AFC South. Indianapolis has forced five interceptions from Watson, with only the Titans being able to say the same. Nobody else in the league has been a bigger headache than the division rival.
Of course, Houston does not want to see their own quarterback twice a season and continue their struggle against the Colts.
Deshaun Watson to meet with more than just Panthers, Saints
While news that Watson will be meeting with the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers has already emerged, according to new reports, Watson is supposed to meet with more teams by the end of Tuesday. The new teams thrown into the mix have not been named as of this writing.
The Saints and Panthers have been given first priority in terms of speaking to Watson about a deal, and others will fall in line after that.
Watson, who sat out the entire NFL season while under investigation after 22 women accused the quarterback of various acts of sexual assault and harassment, has a no-trade clause in his $156 million contract, so the landing spot may ultimately be up to him. The Panthers and the Saints must certainly be offering enough to interest the Texans during the early-stages of Watson’s trade saga, but other teams are beginning to emerge with offers of their own. As it stands, the only person that might know where Watson will land is the Texans’ quarterback himself.
On3’s Barkley Truax contributed to this report