There’s been more talk about a potential Deshaun Watson trade from the Houston Texans over the past several days.
Fox Sports NFL insider Jay Glazer just recently reported that Houston is starting to lower its asking price for the franchise quarterback.
“They weren’t open to trade talks unless somebody was going to give them a ridiculous trade offer. More than six draft picks. They’ve already been offered three one’s and three three’s,” Glazer reported over the weekend. “Wanted more than that. However I was told that this past week, their stance started to soften a little bit with that.”
As you likely already know if you’ve been following the story, the 26-year-old Deshaun Watson has been a healthy inactive for Houston’s first three games of the season. This comes after he requested a trade from the downtrodden organization and following allegations of sexual misconduct on the Pro Bowler’s part.
Now, according to a report from Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, it’s starting to look like the Miami Dolphins are about to make a renewed play for Mr. Watson. Florio specifically points in the direction of Fins owner Stephen Ross as the one individual interested in adding the reigning NFL passing yards leader to the mix.
Related: Ideal Deshaun Watson trade scenarios
“The Dolphins want Watson. More specifically, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross wants Watson. The sticking point has been the compensation demanded by the Texans. If they’re softening, a deal could be done.
PFT’s Mike Florio on Dolphins’ interest in Deshaun Watson
Miami Dolphins have been linked to Deshaun Watson for several months
Miami’s interest in Watson is not new. Instead, it’s all about Ross wanting to bring the star quarterback to South Beach. He could very well be directing general manager Chris Grier to make it happen ahead of November’s NFL trade deadline.
With starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (ribs) currently on injured reserve and the Dolphins at 1-2 on the season, there might now be a renewed push on this front. Tagovailoa was seen as an injury-plagued enigma heading into the 2020 NFL Draft, leading him to dropping to the No. 5 overall pick and falling on to the Dolphins’ laps.
Related: Check out our most-recent NFL quarterback rankings
Since then, nothing we’ve seen from the former Alabama standout has suggested that he can be a franchise-type guy for a contending team. More injury issues in his year-plus in the NFL have added to this.
Any potential deal to bring Deshaun Watson to the Dolphins would obviously include Tua heading back to Houston. Meanwhile, the Fins have an additional first-round pick in 2023 to offer up the Texans stemming from their trade with the San Francisco 49ers this past spring.
Whether something gets done on this front remains to be seen. What we do know is that rumors continue to pick up on the Watson front despite his legal situation remaining unsettled. Ross is the power player in Miami. If he wants this to get done, there’s a good chance that it will happen.
From a pure on-field perspective, Deshaun Watson has been absolutely dynamic since Houston made him a first-round pick back in 2017.
The former Clemson star tallied a league-high 4,823 passing yards with 36 total touchdowns and seven interceptions last season. Throughout his career, he’s compiled 121 total scores and 36 picks.
Related: Find out where the Miami Dolphins sit in our NFL Week 4 power rankings