Here are the teams that could make a push for Deshaun Watson this offseason ...
Dolphins
Watson wants to go to Miami and the Dolphins have had the most interest in landing the Texans quarterback since the start. After getting another good look at current starter Tua Tagovailoa in his second season, nothing has changed. If anything, the Dolphins likely are even more convinced that they need Watson because Tagovailoa hasn’t shown himself to be a franchise quarterback. The Dolphins had a stretch where they won seven straight games – Tagovailoa only started five of those, and here are the opposing quarterbacks he beat in that stretch: Joe Flacco (Jets), Cam Newton (Panthers), Mike Glennon (Giants), Zach Wilson (Jets) and Ian Book (Saints). In last week’s 34-3 loss to the Titans, which broke the Dolphins’ win streak, Tagovailoa was 18-for-38 for 205 yards with an interception and four sacks. Tagovailoa probably is an NFL starting quarterback, but it looks like he'll never be elite, and the Dolphins are ready to do whatever it takes to land an elite quarterback.
Panthers
When the Panthers were interested in Watson at the trade deadline, they were 4-4. Since then, they’ve gone 1-7, including a current six-game losing streak. After failing to land Watson at the trade deadline, the Panthers signed Cam Newton and he lost five straight games and played poorly (five interceptions with just three touchdowns) before being replaced by Sam Darnold last week. Darnold hasn’t looked any better than he did in his first three seasons with the Jets. In 11 games, Darnold has thrown 12 interceptions with just seven touchdowns. Since David Tepper bought the team in 2018, he’s been determined to find his team a quarterback, overpaying for Teddy Bridgewater, then trading for Darnold. He’s going to want to bring Watson, who played his college ball at Clemson, just 130 miles outside of Charlotte, back to the Carolinas. The Panthers will have a valuable pick to offer in the deal with their first-round pick falling somewhere between Nos. 5 and 9.
Saints
The Saints have been a disaster at quarterback since Drew Brees retired after last season. They’ve had to use four different starters – Jameis Winston, Taysom Hill, Trevor Siemian and Ian Book. Winston was good, but he tore his ACL in Week 8 and is set to become a free agent. None of the other guys are legitimate NFL starters. Even without a reliable quarterback, the Saints have rode their defense to a possible playoff berth – they need to beat the Falcons and have the 49ers lose to the Rams this weekend – but they have to be thinking about what they’re going to do at quarterback next season.
Broncos
The Broncos are letting one of the league’s best defenses – only the Patriots and Bills have allowed fewer points - go to waste, missing the playoffs for the sixth straight season. The culprit is a lousy offense led by Teddy Bridgewater and Drew Lock. The Broncos come up in every trade rumor involving quarterbacks – hello, Watson, Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers – so it’s no secret how badly they need to resolve the issue behind center.
Washington Football Team
There wasn’t much talk about Washington in the Watson sweepstakes early in the season, but they may want to jump in after watching how 2021 went for them. The Ryan Fitzpatrick experiment did not go well as the 39-year-old quarterback threw just six passes in Week 1 before injuring his hip and missing the rest of the season. Since then, WFT has been riding Taylor Heinicke, who has overperformed expectations but hasn’t shown anything to make you think he’s a quality NFL starter. Washington’s first-round pick this year could fall in the Top 10.
Browns
The Browns are another team rarely mentioned as being in pursuit of Watson, but after watching Baker Mayfield in his fourth season, it’s obvious they could use him. Would Watson waive his no-trade clause to play in Cleveland? Maybe not, but at least the Browns should be in the bidding war. Mayfield has one more year left on his contract and is coming off the worst year of his career, throwing a career-low 17 touchdowns as the Browns underachieved and will finish below .500 after going 11-5 last season.
Steelers
Ben Roethlisberger is done in Pittsburgh, leaving Mason Rudolph, Dwayne Haskins and Joshua Dobbs as the only quarterbacks on the roster. Surely, Mike Tomlin isn’t planning on entering 2022 with any of those guys as his starting quarterback. The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since the 2016 season and will need help to sneak into this year’s playoffs.
Eagles
This is the one team whose quarterback play might have improved since the trade deadline. When the Texans were attempting to trade Watson before the deadline, the Eagles were one of the top teams involved. They were 3-5 at the time and appeared to be headed to their second straight losing season. They’ve gone 6-2 since and clinched a playoff spot with second-year quarterback Jalen Hurts at the helm. Some of that success can be attributed to rookie head coach Nick Sirianni switching to a more run-heavy offense to take some of the pressure off Hurts, but the Houston native also has shown a lot of improvement through the season and may have done enough for the Eagles to give up their pursuit of Watson.
Giants
There were reports last week that the Giants intend to give Daniel Jones, who they took sixth overall in the 2019 draft,
another year at quarterback but with the Giants already clinching their fifth straight season with double-digit losses, there could be a new regime on the way that thinks differently about Jones. Jones wasn’t good this year, but he did dramatically cut down on his turnovers – giving up the ball 10 times in 11 starts this season, compared to the 39 turnovers he had in his previous 26 starts. The one thing the Giants have going for them is assets. Their first-round pick likely will be in the Top 5 and they also own the Bears’ first pick, which likely will be in the Top 10. If you offer the Texans two Top 10 picks in this draft – that would go with the Texans’ own pick already in the Top 5 – you wouldn’t have to give up as many picks as other teams would to land Watson.
Seahawks
It’s hard to imagine Russell Wilson playing anywhere besides Seattle, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter has reported that it’s likely t
his is the last year in Seattle for either Wilson or head coach Pete Carroll. The Seahawks are just 6-10 this year and the 33-year-old Wilson has had by far the worst season of his career if you go by QBR – his 51.5 QBR puts him at 14th in the league behind the likes of Jimmy Garoppolo and Ryan Tannehill. If the Seahawks decide it is time to move on from their seven-time Pro Bowler, they would have to consider Watson as a possible replacement.
