CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers will make an “aggressive” offer for Deshaun Watson as soon as the Houston quarterback waives his no-trade clause for them to negotiate with the Texans, a league source told ESPN.
An issue with having the clause waived is not anticipated, the source said.
The Panthers attempted to trade for Watson, 26, early last offseason before reports surfaced of 22 lawsuits and 10 criminal complaints of sexual misconduct against the three-time Pro Bowl selection. Carolina backed off after that.
A grand jury in Houston voted Friday not to indict Watson on the criminal charges, leaving the 22 civil lawsuits with accusations of sexual assault and inappropriate conduct during massage sessions against the former Clemson quarterback.
That increased interest from many teams in addition to Carolina. Seattle, which earlier in the week traded Russell Wilson to Denver, also is expected to make a strong run at Watson, according to a source. New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Indianapolis and Cleveland also reportedly are interested.
Houston can agree to a trade at any time, but it could not be made official until the new league year starts at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
All the teams understand the NFL still could suspend Watson for a certain number of games if it finds he violated the league’s personal code of conduct.
In 2010, Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger was suspended for six games for violating the conduct code after being accused of sexually assaulting a Georgia college student following a night of drinking in Milledgeville, Georgia. That suspension was reduced to four games.
The Steelers went 12-4 in the regular season and reached the Super Bowl, where they lost 31-25 to Green Bay. Panthers owner David Tepper, who has been a driving force in Carolina’s pursuit of Watson, was a minority owner in Pittsburgh then.
“That’s the most important position on the field,” Tepper said of the quarterback in December 2021 when he fired general…
Source : espn
