Update: 2:55pm ET, 11/2 - The Dolphins have ended any pursuit of Deshaun Watson, according to a report from Adam Schefter. More details in the StoryStream below.
Week 8 of the NFL season is coming to an end, with just the Monday Night Football game remaining tonight. While Week 9 preparations begin immediately after the end of each team’s Week 8 game, the NFL calendar has another major event following the end of Week 8. The NFL trade deadline is coming, and with it the possibility of players moving between teams.
The Miami Dolphins are an annual member of the trade rumors club - either as buyers or sellers. This year, it is a little odd as Miami is now 1-7 on the year and in position to be a seller, but they are also rumored to be in on the biggest potential buy of the trade deadline. Will the Dolphins and Houston Texans come to a deal that sends quarterback Deshaun Watson to Miami?
The teams have until 4pm ET on Tuesday to finalize any potential deal.
And, if Miami does make that trade, is that the only deal they will make? Will Tua Tagovailoa be traded to make room for Watson? Will the Dolphins begin selling off pieces like Xavien Howard or DeVante Parker to pick up draft capital for 2022 as they try to fix whatever has led to a crash-and-burn 2021 season?
The latest on any potential Watson deal can be tracked in the stories below. After the 2020 season ended and the Texans changed their coaching staff and front office, Watson became disillusioned with the team and asked for a trade. Watson eventually stated that, since he felt he was promised input on the next coach and general manager for the team and then did not have the level of input that he felt he was due, he would never play for the Texans again. Houston did not immediately react to that demand, hoping they could resolve Watson’s concerns.
Then in March, civil lawsuit allegations of sexual assault and misconduct began to be levels against Watson. Since then, the number of lawsuits have expanded to 22, with a criminal investigation ongoing as well. Those allegations have factored into any potential trade for Watson.
The latest appears to say the Dolphins and Texans were close to an agreement, but, without anything finalized, the Texans then upped the demands for Watson. According to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, the Texans had “caught wind” that Watson could be looking to settle the 22 civil lawsuits in order to ease the Dolphins concerns, which made Houston believe they could ask for more from Miami. Did that end any possibility of a deal being made?
We will also link any other deals Miami may make as the rumors, speculation, and reporting happens.