Christian McCaffrey Trade Rumors: Panthers Willing to Move RB in Deshaun Watson Deal

Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper reportedly hasn't "given up hope of acquiring former Pro Bowl quarterback Deshaun Watson via trade," and it remains a "priority" before Tuesday's NFL trade deadline, per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. However, a deal isn't "imminent" at this point.

Per that report, the two sides are still working out the parameters of a potential deal, with the Texans wanting "five or six key pieces for Watson, including at least three first-round picks." 

The Panthers, on the other hand, are reportedly willing to offer "three high picks and All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey in a package for Watson."

Swapping McCaffrey in a package for Watson would be shocking on a number of levels. 

For one, the star running back is one of the most dangerous weapons in football when healthy and certainly one of the team's most popular players. Quarterbacks are obviously more valuable than running backs, but dealing a player of McCaffrey's statue would still send shockwaves around the NFL. 

The Panthers also traded a 2021 sixth-round pick and 2022 second- and fourth-rounders for Sam Darnold in the offseason, then promptly picked up his $18.8 million fifth-year option for the 2022 campaign. 

After committing draft capital and cap space for him, giving up on Darnold so quickly would be questionable asset management, to say the least. On the other hand, the Panthers don't want to find themselves in a sunk-cost fallacy scenario with the young quarterback. If they've decided he isn't the guy, it's best to move on. 

But then there are the various question marks surrounding Watson. Twenty-two women are suing the quarterback and have accused him of sexual misconduct and sexual assault. At least ten women have also filed criminal complaints against Watson, and both the Houston Police Department and the FBI are investigating the allegations. 

The NFL is also investigating the accusations, though commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters this week the league won't suspend Watson or put him on the commissioner's exempt list until the legal process plays out. 

"That process is still ongoing and until that process isn't ongoing and we have enough data and enough information to be able to make a determination of whether he should go on commissioner exempt, we don't feel that we have the necessary information at this point," he said.

Trading for Watson at this point would be pretty awful PR, given the allegations made against him, but there's also the question of whether he's eventually facing jail time or a lengthy suspension. It's hard to imagine any team giving up a huge trade package for a player facing the type of allegations made against Watson.