Deshaun Watson Trade Rumors: Panthers to Make 'Aggressive' Offer for Texans QB

The Carolina Panthers are reportedly prepared to make the Houston Texans an "aggressive" trade offer for quarterback Deshaun Watson.

ESPN's David Newton reported Saturday the Panthers are waiting for Watson to waive his no-trade clause before they enter formal negotiations with the Texans, but that's viewed as more of a formality than a significant hurdle.

The update comes after a Texas grand jury declined to indict Watson on nine criminal complaints Friday related to allegations of sexual assault and misconduct toward women during massage sessions. He still faces 22 civil lawsuits.

Panthers owner David Tepper hasn't addressed Watson specifically, which could lead to tampering penalties if he did so, but he's made it clear throughout his four-year ownership tenure he understands filling the team's void at quarterback is crucial to success.

Tepper told reporters in December 2020:

"That's the most important position on the field. ... Unless you have that guy for sure that gets you to playoffs and Super Bowls, you have to keep reevaluating that because that's the only thing that matters is Super Bowls. And until you have that guy, you're evaluating, evaluating, evaluating every year."

Since Tepper purchased the organization in 2018, a different QB has led the team in starts each season: Cam Newton, Kyle Allen, Teddy Bridgewater and Sam Darnold.

Watson's availability for the 2022 season remains uncertain because he could still face NFL discipline under the league's personal conduct policy, and there's no timetable for a conclusion of the civil lawsuits filed against him.

From a football perspective, he'd represent a massive upgrade for the Panthers.

The last time Watson took the field in 2020, he completed 70.2 percent of his throws for 4,823 yards, 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions across 16 games. He added 444 rushing yards and three scores on the ground.

For his career, he's tallied 122 total touchdowns (104 passing, 17 rushing and one receiving) in 54 career games. That's 2.3 TDs per game. By comparison, the Kansas City Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes has averaged 2.5 TDs per contest throughout his five-year career.

Watson was declared a healthy inactive for all 17 of the Texans' games in 2021 amid the legal proceedings as the NFL opted against putting him on the commissioner's exempt list.

The Panthers will face plenty of competition, as pretty much every team in need of a quarterback upgrade is lining up to talk with the Texans.

It's a group that includes the Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, per Newton.

Watson's no-trade clause also gives him an opportunity to have some say in his destination.