WATSON WATCH
Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson has eliminated one team from his list
According to Adam Schefter, the Cleveland Browns have been informed that Deshaun Watson will not waive his no-trade clause for a trade to Cleveland.
Browns notified they’re out of the running on Deshaun Watson, per team official.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 17, 2022
We've heard rumors that Deshaun prefers not to play for a cold weather team, so eliminating the Browns makes sense in that aspect. And after reports from Aaron Wilson about Watson having a second meeting with the Saints on Wednesday night, it's starting to look like the Saints are the favorites to land Watson.
New Orleans Saints met with Deshaun Watson for second time while simultaneously clearing salary-cap space to acquire his $156 million contract, according to league sources. One source described general manager Mickey Loomis as "determined" and "aggressive" to land Watson
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 17, 2022
Not only does New Orleans look like Deshaun's favorite destination at the moment, but the Saints are making multiple moves to clear cap space, and it appears they almost have enough cap space to make the trade, according to Field Yates. We're also hearing from Aaron Wilson that Saints guard and former 1st round pick, Cesar Ruiz, could be a part of this trade.
There is still no Matt Ryan contract restructure in Atlanta, nor any agreement on one.
And the Saints can almost already afford Deshaun Watson if the quarterback wanted to go to New Orleans. https://t.co/GpMeIfki4k
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 17, 2022
Let's focus on the Falcons for a moment because the clock is ticking for them. Per ProFootballTalk, "Ryan is due to receive a $7.5 million roster bonus tomorrow. Which means that, if he’s not off the roster by 4:00 p.m. ET today, the cap charge for a pre-June 1 trade moves to $48.025 million."
With this in mind, don't be surprised if Watson has to let the Falcons know his intentions today, so they can make a decision on Ryan's contract.
As far as the Panthers, they feel like a long shot at this point. Watson has met twice with the Saints, so it would be very surprising if Watson picks the Panthers. But anything is possible, we'll see. Bottom line, I believe Watson makes his decision today, but we might not hear about it right away.
