Albert Breer: Deshaun Watson to Miami not dead even without Brian Flores

It’s not out of the question.

With the firing of Brian Flores now in the past, the Miami Dolphins are preparing to take their next steps as a franchise.

They’re putting out requests to interview coordinators to become their head coach, and the next decision after that should be the quarterback. Tua Tagovailoa is set to start his third season with the Dolphins, but it’s clear that he hasn’t lived up to his draft position.

Throughout the last year, there were consistent discussions about a potential trade for Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson. It was essentially known that Flores was part of the reason that the quarterback would consider waiving his no-trade clause to be sent to Miami.

Now that Flores is out of the picture, does that mean the potential deal is dead?

Albert Breer of the MMQB doesn’t seem to think so. He wrote about the very topic on Wednesday.

“Deshaun Watson’s desire to play for the Dolphins, as I’ve heard it, was bolstered by Brian Flores’s presence there,” Breer wrote. “But that was hardly the only thing Miami had going for it—there’s also a good core group on the roster, cap flexibility to allow for guys to come with the quarterback, no state income tax and, yes, the simple fact that it’s South Florida (which helps in getting guys to want to join him).”

So, despite the rumors that have spread this week about owner Stephen Ross and general manager Chris Grier being the ones who back Tagovailoa, there’s still a chance that this deal could get done without Flores.

[listicle id=444385]