Tuesday represents the last day for the Houston Texans to pull off a mid-season trade of star quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Trade rumors have been circulating around Watson since the start of the year when he reportedly asked the team to trade him. The Miami Dolphins were an early front runner due to the team’s draft capital. And while that’s still seemingly the case, the situation has grown immeasurably more complicated since February.
First and foremost, Watson is now embroiled in a litany of sexual assault and misconduct allegations. There are currently 22 civil suits against him, 10 criminal complaints and investigations by the FBI, NFL and Houston Police Department. The allegations themselves involve massage parlors across the Houston area during his time as the Texans’ starting quarterback.
Still, talks have reportedly resumed in recent weeks, and the Dolphins are once again one of the teams to have reportedly pursued a deal. The Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos also reportedly expressed some level of interest.
Watson, however, has a no-trade clause. He has final say on whether any trade goes through, and he’s reportedly only dropped the clause for Miami thus far.
Now that the table is set, here’s why I believe Miami GM Chris Grier should pull out of trade quickly and indefinitely.
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No guarantee Deshaun Watson will even play again
As much as some would like to separate Watson the football player from Watson the person, in this case, that would be foolish. Twenty-two civil suits and 10 criminal complaints are as serious as it gets in the NFL.
Watson has been a healthy scratch throughout the entire 2021 season thus far, despite participating in training camp beforehand. That doesn’t bode well for a mid-season trade, considering he likely won’t be able to simply slot into Miami’s offense at this point. At least, I can’t imagine it’d be a smooth transition.
Putting game-day readiness aside, there’s no guarantee he’ll be allowed to suit up again long term. The results of any of the ongoing investigations will eventually come to light. And when they do, it’s likely there will be heavy repercussions.
But what the consequences will be can vary wildly. Not only may he be suspended from football, but he may be subject to potential jail time for sexual assault depending on the criminal aspect of the investigations.
The NFL is in an unprecedented position, too. Never before has the former face of a franchise been embroiled in this many allegations all at once. A suspension seems like the minimum at this point.
Either way, it’d take a fair amount of draft capital to bring Deshaun Watson to Miami without any assurance he could play. Not to mention the bridges that would be burned getting a deal like that done, both with the fan base and current players.
Blows up Miami Dolphins rebuild
Chris Grier has spent his tenure as GM building toward and around one piece: Tua Tagovailoa.
He started by building a roster to tank for the team’s second-year quarterback. In the process, he accrued draft capital to build around Tagovailoa by trading away star players such as Minkah Fitzpatrick and Laremy Tunsil.
Whether you agree with Grier’s process or not – or perhaps you take issue with the execution – I believe it’s worth seeing it through. Trading away Tagovailoa and future picks handicaps the team in more ways than one.
First, replacing Tagovailoa with Watson cash straps the Dolphins. Watson’s current contract lasts until 2025, and he has expected cap hits of $40.4 million, $42.4 million, $37.4 million and $32 million over the duration of that contract, according to Over the Cap. That’s a total of $152.3 in cap space starting next year.
Tagovailoa’s cap hits over the remaining two years of his rookie deal: $8.3 million and $9.6 million, respectively.
Now, if you were to tell me the Miami Dolphins have a Super Bowl-ready roster that’s only missing a star quarterback, I could understand a team mortgaging its future with a high-priced starter. However, the 1-7 Dolphins are not that team, and Watson isn’t going to make them a playoff contender this year.
The team can, however, attempt to improve the roster over the remainder of Tagovailoa’s rookie deal. With the cap space his contract provides, there’s potential to shore up the team’s offensive line through free agency. By holding on to draft picks, Grier may also be able to fill in holes elsewhere with future rookies.
So, whether you agree with Grier’s GM style thus far, I find it hard to believe that he’ll be able to fix this roster if hamstrung with very little cap space and a quarterback who might not even play.
The Miami Dolphins and public opinion
Many will say, “Innocent until proven guilty,” and that’s an understandable stance to take.
However, there’s always optics involved in every front office football decision. Contracts are often extended based on fan base love for a particular player, while some GMs sign massive free agent deals just to show they are willing to make a big move.
So if that’s the case, it might behoove Grier to take a step back and ask himself: What would it say about him, this franchise and the NFL at large to actively target a man accused of nearly two dozen instances of sexual misconduct?
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Perhaps most importantly, what message does that send to his accusers? Deshaun Watson certainly deserves his day in court, but I’d argue the alleged victims should also be entitled to their day in court too before their alleged assailant is able to resume business as usual in front of millions of Sunday viewers.
Due process isn’t just for the accused, but potential victims, too. And in that case, I’d argue the process should have to play itself out before any team, including the Dolphins, finalizes a trade for him.
The Dolphins aren’t likely to become a social pariah if they trade for Watson later on Tuesday, but it sends the wrong message to young football fans across the nation. We prioritize winning percentages over morality.