Are the Panthers a Realistic Destination for Deshaun Watson?

If the Texans part ways with the Pro Bowl quarterback, then the Panthers should risk everything to acquire him.

We'll start this piece by saying that the likelihood that Deshaun Watson will be playing for any team other than the Houston Texans is slim. It is simply too difficult to obtain a franchise quarterback. If you are lucky enough to have one like Watson, then you must be willing to do whatever is in your power to keep him. Watson has at least three years left on his current contract where he will make most of his money ($40 million) in 2022. 

Having said that, Watson is reportedly unhappy with the current state of the Texans' franchise. He is said to have wanted to be involved in the team's general manager and head coaching search and he has not been thus far. This has set social media ablaze with theories and speculations about where the 25-year-old franchise quarterback will be playing next year.

As stated above, Houston would be even more foolish than they are already perceived to be if they dealt Watson in a trade. The only way that it could realistically happen is if Watson came out with a statement saying that he will not play for the Texans and thus demand a trade or risk sitting out and losing his contract. Then, maybe the team would be persuaded to trade him since it would be better for them to get something rather than nothing. 

Houston's phones would be blowing up if something like that were to happen. The price for Watson would be through the roof but that doesn't mean that it wouldn't be worth it. The Panthers have a lot of pieces in place and they could jump into the playoff conversation by adding a quarterback of Watson's caliber. 

What it would take

Trading a 25-year-old Pro Bowl quarterback who has yet to even reach their full potential would be an unprecedented territory. One previous deal that comes close was when the Cincinnati Bengals traded two-time Pro Bowler Carson Palmer to the Oakland Raiders in 2011. The Raiders sent a first and second-round pick to the Bengals in that deal. The big difference was that Palmer was 30 at the time and had pretty much peaked as an athlete. It's safe to say that a first and second-rounder would not be enough to get Watson. 

The Panthers would need to be willing to part with the No. 8 overall pick in this year's draft, their second-round pick, and a future first-round pick at the very least. They would also probably have to sweeten the deal with a starting-caliber player that they have on their roster. Possibly someone like cornerback Donte Jackson. 

This is a lot of capital to give up for a roster that is already thin. Would it be worth it? Yes. Quarterback might be the hardest position to play in not only the NFL but in all of professional sports. If you can get one that has the potential to be great, like Watson does, then you do everything you can to get him. 

The Panthers have the draft picks to possibly make a deal although the likelihood of a deal getting done at all is extremely small. 

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