Deshaun Watson is good at football. In fact, he’s very good at it—as he’s one of the very elite players at the most important position in all of North American sports.
But what does that mean in the grand scheme of society . . . ?
Not a damn thing.
This sport, in the most beautiful and painstaking of ways, has the power to produce a range of unparalleled emotions and experiences for all involved. The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat and the joy of the ride can inspire feelings of excitement, pride and passion like no other.
And although that goes to prove why people can become so invested in the game, there are quite a few things bigger than football—with integrity among them.
David Tepper’s Carolina Panthers, who have reportedly been persistent in their pursuit of Watson for over a year now, can salvage whatever is left of theirs by leaving their longstanding interest behind. It’s already enough that they’ve been linked to a man who’s been accused of sexual misconduct by 22 different women, but it’ll be a whole other message entirely if they stick their necks out for him.
Sadly, they’ll continue to do so—as this regime seems hellbent on bungling the quarterback spot one way or another. Plus, we may already be at the point of no return with multiple outlets already confirming the team’s all-in hunt—just minutes after he was cleared of nine criminal charges on Friday.
That hunt, presumably, could take quite a bit of life out of Carolina. If the most recent reports are anywhere close to being true, the Panthers would be parting with a substantial package of draft picks and perhaps multiple players in a swap for Watson.
Jonathan M. Alexander of The Charlotte Observer wrote on Thursday that the team has gauged the parameters of a deal and would expect to lose three first-rounders, an additional piece of draft compensation and one or two of its young defensive starters. As for who those starters would be, the Texans may ask to chose from a promising group that includes defensive end Brian Burns, defensive tackle Derrick Brown, safety Jeremy Chinn and/or cornerback Jaycee Horn.
Such a deal could effectively be forcing the Panthers to relinquish five first-round picks—with Burns, Brown and Horn representing each of the franchise’s last three No. 1 selections. So not only would that pound a crater into their defense, but it would also kneecap their chances of filling out the surrounding holes on the roster—and there are still quite a handful of them.
Not to mention, Watson is about to enter the bulk of his four-year, $156 million contract extension. His cap hits for the remainder of that pact—keeping other positional needs in mind—will account for $40.4 million in 2022, $42.4 million in 2023, $37.4 million in 2024 and $32 million in 2025.
This, however, isn’t even the nastiest mess the organization can get itself in. That would be saved for—again, with the football side of things not ultimately mattering—the lack of morality in welcoming Watson with open arms.
Tepper is in the position he’s in now because of a very similar circumstance to Watson’s. Previous owner Jerry Richardson was forced to sell the team in 2018 after accusations of inappropriate workplace conduct from several individuals, including instances of “sexually suggestive language and behavior” as well as the use of a racial slur on at least one particular occasion.
In a largely symbolic move two years after the sale, Richardson’s 13-foot statue outside of Bank of America Stadium was unceremoniously extracted and carried off to an undisclosed location. Now, not even two years after that, a trade for Watson would serve as Tepper’s symbolic monument in a move of tone-deaf contradiction.
Speaking of, does anyone remember what Tepper promised during his introductory press conference?
“I’d like to have an open environment, one big family environment . . . where everybody feels safe like a family,” he said back on July 10, 2018. “And that means you can come up and talk to people, and there’s gonna be just openness on all sides of this organization on both the football side and the business side.”
Is this open?
Despite not being indicted by a grand jury, Watson is still looking straight into 22 civil lawsuits. That’s 22 civil lawsuits from 22 different women alleging harmful and reprehensible acts. 22.
While we do abide by a justice system that promotes innocence until proven otherwise (at least in particular cases), that startling number alone should’ve been enough for anyone—let alone the Panthers—to have pause on Watson. And especially with Carolina’s history—and their very recent history at that—that number should’ve been enough to just move on.
But they haven’t, and they won’t.
Ironically enough, Watson may be the one to eventually save the Panthers from themselves. According to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, he’ll be more inclined to waive his no-trade clause for a team who has a “good head coach,” a “good offensive line,” and a “good defense.”
Do the Panthers, even before they’d have to give up those aforementioned assets, have any of those right now?
Well, what they do have is a small ounce of integrity left—something they’ll completely lose if Tepper has his way.
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