ESPN Senior NFL Insider Adam Schefter joined Get Up on Wednesday morning to discuss Deshaun Watson as teams look to close in on a deal with the Houston Texans to acquire the former Clemson quarterback.
The Atlanta Falcons have emerged as a team interested in Watson, joining the Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints and Cleveland Browns as teams interested in trading for the three-time Pro Bowler.
Schefter gave the latest on where things stood with Watson, who has a no-trade clause in his contract, as of Wednesday morning.
“He’s met with the Saints, he’s met with the Panthers, he’s met with the Browns, he’s talking with the Falcons. They are all interested in making a deal,” Schefter said. “And all teams, I think, have deals in place essentially – parameters of deals – with the Houston Texans so that if and when Deshaun Watson makes a decision about where he wants to play, he would then be able to waive the no-trade clause in his contract and he’ll dictate to the Houston Texans about where he wants to play in an arrangement that would be acceptable to the Texans and to him, and clearly all these teams are on board.”
Schefter added that Watson “doesn’t appear to be in any great rush to make a decision.”
“I don’t think this is going to drag out over the course of a week or anything,” he added. “But this is a very significant decision with him coming off everything he has had in the last year and him wanting to make sure that his future is secure and he makes the right choice moving forward.”
Although Watson will not face criminal charges, he still faces 22 civil lawsuits alleging sexual misconduct.
Schefter spoke about the potential discipline Watson could face from the NFL.
“Deshaun Watson’s still facing the 22 civil lawsuits, and the NFL doesn’t need charges against a player to take disciplinary action,” Schefter said. “We saw that with Ben Roethlisberger, who was suspended for six games. We saw that with Zeke Elliott, who was suspended for six games. And I think there’s a sense around the league that Deshaun Watson will be suspended at some point in time, whether the NFL wants to wait for the resolution of the civil cases, whether the league wants to impose any disciplinary action sooner. We shall see what the league decides, but I think people believe that there will be some suspension that’s served at some point in time.”
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