Bucs Gameday

Should the Tampa Bay Buccaneers pursue a trade for Deshaun Watson?

Watson was not charged by the grand jury, do the Bucs make a run at the Houston Texan QB?

Caleb Skinner

Houston Texans’ QB Deshaun Watson faced a grand jury today to determine if he would face criminal charges on 22 different sexual assault allegations. The grand jury came to the following conclusion on the matter this evening:

First reported by Adam Schefter, Watson will not face ANY criminal charges from the allegations of sexual assault. He will however still have to face civil lawsuits filed against him. Now that Watson has put the grand jury and criminal accusations behind him teams can and will immediately begin to inquire about his trade value. Now the question begs, do the Tampa Bay Buccaneers do everything in their power to get the electric QB?

READ MORE: Is Leonard Fournette Saying Goodbye to Tampa Bay?

In a previous article, I wrote about how the Bucs must pursue Watson if he is found innocent by the grand jury. Now that that has occurred I stand with that statement. After the retirement of Brady and not very many top options left on the QB market, Watson sits at the top of the list. Numerous teams have been waiting to see what would happen with Watson to try and pursue him. The most notable seems to be the Steelers, Panthers, Seahawks, and Bucs. 

For whoever wants or ends up trading for Watson, this is what they will be looking at in terms of what is left on his contract:

Deshaun Watson is not out of the woods yet as he can still face punishment from the league. However, this verdict by the grand jury today allows Watson to not be ousted from the league and most likely will only face a suspension once he finds a home. The Bucs should do everything they can to remain in "win-now" mode and trading for a player like Deshaun Watson will definitely accomplish that.

READ MORE: Three QBs Tampa Bay Must Pursue After Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson Moves

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Caleb Skinner
CALEB SKINNER

Caleb is from Nashville, TN and graduated from Florida State University in 2018 with majors in Sociology and History. He has previously written for an FSU outlet and started covering the Buccaneers in March of 2022. Caleb is an avid sports fan and former host of the Tribeoholics podcast. You can follow Caleb on Twitter @chsnole