Texans owner: ‘We’ll see’ if Deshaun Watson is traded before deadline

Ahead of the Week 5 showdown between the Houston Texans and New England Patriots, both 1-3, unsettled Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson still wishes to be traded, remains a paid, unused signal-caller for each game, and continues to face 22 lawsuits alleging acts of sexual assault and misconduct and 10 criminal complaints that are making it difficult for the Texans to find a buyer at the right price. 

NFL insider Josina Anderson reported last week that “nothing firm has materialized” regarding Houston trading Watson to an interested team such as the Miami Dolphins and also that the Texans want some combination of three first-round draft picks and three “additional assets” for their star quarterback. Per Aaron Wilson of SportsTalk 790, Texans owner Cal McNair spoke with reporters Wednesday but had little to offer about the franchise potentially dealing Watson ahead of the Nov. 2 trade deadline. 

“We’ll just wait and see,” McNair explained. “It’s a day-to-day thing. (General manager Nick Caserio) is in charge of that, so we’ll see how that works out.” 

Anderson made it clear in late September clubs like the Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles are wary to pull the trigger on such a transaction without knowing if Watson will ultimately be prohibited from playing via either the commissioner’s exempt list or a suspension. Unless Watson’s legal issues are sorted out by the first Tuesday of November, he’ll be on track to sit through the entire season.