Watson meets with Saints, Panthers, and Browns; Falcons up next

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - The Deshaun Watson trade watch moves into day four with multiple suitors trying to land his services.

The Saints, Panthers, Falcons, and Browns are all in the running to land the 26-year old quarterback out of Clemson.

Watson has met with the Saints, Browns, and Panthers in Houston. Dennis Allen and Mickey Loomis represented the Saints.

According to media reports, the Saints offered three first-round picks and players on their roster to make the deal happen.

Watson reached out personally to the Falcons. Atlanta and Watson will meet in-person on Wednesday. The quarterback played his high school ball in the state of Georgia, and was a ball boy for the Falcons.

Watson possesses a no-trade clause, so the final decision on his landing spot rest with the QB.

Watson didn’t play a down last season while embroiled in 22 lawsuits and 10 criminal complaints alleging sexual misconduct. The accusations of sexual assault and inappropriate conduct were levied by women paid for massage sessions by the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback.

However, a path to Watson returning to the field appeared to have cleared last Friday, when a grand jury in Houston decided not to indict Watson on any of the criminal complaints.

Watson was on the active roster during the 2021 season and was a healthy scratch for all 17 games. He was paid his entire $10.54 million base salary.

Watson still could be suspended for a number of games by the league, if the NFL determines through its own investigation that the quarterback violated the league’s personal code of conduct. The NFL appeared reluctant to weigh in with its findings before the determination was made that Watson would or would not face criminal charges in Texas.

From 2017-2020, Watson has thrown for 14,539 yards, with 104 touchdown passes .

The Saints currently have two quarterbacks on the roster, Taysom Hill and Ian Book.

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