Deshaun Watson won’t be talking to the Colts, but maybe CLE, CAR?

There have been many teams interested in Deshaun Watson, but the Indianapolis Colts won’t be speaking with him.

Talk about a bold move. The Colts called up the Texans and asked to speak to Deshaun Watson about a potential trade after they sent their previous starting quarterback, Carson Wentz, to the Washington Commanders after just one season with the team.

It made sense, seeing how the Colts have a ton of cap space and desperately need a quarterback. That’s where Houston slammed the door or the phone down on any chance of that happening. Adam Schefter was the first to report this.

Trading Watson inside the division would be a fireable offense, and Nick Caserio (and many football fans) knows that. The colts would have had to sell their immediate future and then the next few years as well.

Would there be a chance for a potential trade? Technically yes, but since that ship has sailed, a trade proposal doesn’t matter anymore. Taking the Colts’ stars and a plethora of draft picks would have been the cost.

As Indianapolis joins the Miami Dolphins and New York Giants in the “Not going to get Deshaun Watson” club, what does this mean for the other teams that are still alive in trade talks? The two remaining teams are the Carolina Panthers and the Cleveland Browns.

Let’s get into more of these teams’ legitimacy of landing Watson.

Persistence may pay off for the Carolina Panthers if they land Deshaun Watson

The Carolina Panthers have been one of the teams that have been interested in Watson since this whole ordeal began last season. And let’s face it, Panthers head coach Matt Rhule may be a defensive genius, but his offensive skills could use some work. Unfortunately, his eye for quarterbacks has been less than optimal- and that’s putting it lightly.

The compensation could take three, possibly four of Carolina’s best defensive players and a bounty of picks that would set the Texans up for success down the road. Of course, that would leave Rhule with a weakness on defense, but a bad offense cannot be overcome in the NFL.

On top of this, the Panthers met with Watson on the night of March 14th. For what that meeting entailed has not been released to the public yet.

Rhule could be trying to pair Watson with star, yet-often injured running back Christian McCaffrey. This pairing could be what saves the Panthers’ offense from another year of futility and may also save Rhule’s job.

The Panthers are close, but are the Browns closer?

Cleveland Browns suddenly enter the discussion for Deshaun Watson

After a phenomenal 2020 that was followed up by a non-playoff season in 2021, the Browns showed that they are just one quarterback away from being a force in the AFC North. So this isn’t too crazy to think about as a destination for Watson to head to.

There is a tremendous offensive line, an improving defense, a great head coach, and one of the best (if not the best) running back tandems in the NFL. It’s a quarterback’s dream. Oh, did I mention they got Amari Cooper for a 5th round pick? Cleveland has a chance to get this right.

Of course, that comes down to Watson waiving his no-trade clause.

It’s a remarkable body of work by Cleveland to set all of this up. Baker Mayfield’s time could be up after an inconsistent start to his career. In terms of a trade compensation, Texans fans probably wouldn’t be too thrilled to get Mayfield back in a trade, but there are definitely are worse options to have at the position.

Buckle up, everyone! It’s going to be fun to see how this plays out.