Mr. Scot

From the article above... They’re a popular team on his personal wish list and have the draft capital to pull it off.

Updated info from Aaron Wilson following the Wentz trade... Watson remains in quarterback limbo as the NFL's quarterback market evolves The Panthers are mentioned...briefly. Excerpts: Despite this movement on the heels of the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams exchanging Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff, Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson remains in a holding pattern along with other elite quarterbacks whose futures remain unresolved. Because the Texans and Watson’s staring contest hasn’t stopped — the team resolute in its desire to hold onto him and Watson and his representatives steadfast in their request for a trade — the status quo defines the awkward situation. That hasn’t stopped the constant conversation around the league surrounding Watson and other quarterbacks potentially available for the right price. ... Will Watson be headed to the Miami Dolphins? They’re a popular team on his personal wish list and have the draft capital to pull it off. A recent dinner for Watson while vacationing in Miami with former Clemson teammate and current Dolphins defensive lineman Christian Wilkins sparked a lot of buzz but little else. Watson is open to waiving his no-trade clause in his $156 million contract extension signed in September. The Denver Broncos are a team he’s considering, especially after recruiting efforts from former Texans safety Kareem Jackson. The San Francisco 49ers, who could move on from starting quarterback Jimmy Garroppolo and his $25.5 million price tag next season, are another contender. The New York Jets are the team best positioned to trade for Watson considering they have four first-round draft picks in the next two years and roughly $70 million in salary-cap space. However, Watson is aware that the Texans would want so much in return that it could weaken their competitiveness. The Carolina Panthers, led by owner David Tepper and coach Matt Rhule, covet Watson. ... As for the Texans, nothing has changed since chairman Cal McNair drew a line in the stand about Watson again last Friday when he said in telephone interview: “Deshaun is a Texan, and he’s going to be a Texan.” If the Texans remain dug in on not trading Watson, then he’s not expected to report and would incur hefty fines. That would include $95,877 for missing a mandatory minicamp, $50,000 per day for every day of training camp missed, and $620,000 for each regular-season game missed. ... The Texans have been firm in their desire to not trade Watson even though he isn’t returning telephone calls and text messages intended to sell them on their vision for a new leadership structure of general manager Nick Caserio and coach David Culley. “Our quarterback is under contract,” a team source said. “He is going to be our quarterback.” ... While Watson and the Texans’ impasse continues, the rest of the league could have heavy turnover. Already, the Lions, Rams and Colts with last year’s starter Philip Rivers retired and replaced by Wentz, have changed starting quarterbacks. The Las Vegas Raiders have rejected inquiries about Derek Carr, former Texans quarterback David Carr’s younger brother. The Seattle Seahawks and quarterback Russell Wilson, who has voiced complaints about the offensive line and direction of the franchise, are in an uneasy alliance. The Washington football team is expected to explore its options after ending last season with Taylor Heinicke stepping in for Alex Smith after the team cut Dwayne Haskins. The New England Patriots are expected to evaluate college quarterbacks like Alabama’s Mac Jones after struggling last season with veteran Cam Newton. They would be an interesting landing spot for Watson, whom coach Bill Belichick has a ton of respect for. The Panthers are expected to try to upgrade from Teddy Bridgewater whether it’s through the draft or a veteran.

2015 feels like a lifetime ago.

Big fan of McCaffrey as a player, but "reasonable" isn't the first word I'd use when describing his contract.

It'd make sense, but they're taking a hell of a cap hit with the Wentz trade so they need whomever they get to be pretty cheap. That makes a rookie a very possible option. I forget who (probably Joe Person) but someone recently mentioned in a discussion about the Panthers and Wentz that trading Bridgewater to them would be pretty tough to do given his contract and their cap situation.

As far as Seattle connections, there's word the Seahawks are unlikely to re-sign Chris Carson. Whether we'd look at him? Unknown. Might depend on how he compares to Mike Davis.

I'd agree, but apparently there's now word that their starting QB choice is gonna be determined by competition. Quoting Adam Schefter in the article PFT cites as a source... ...while the Eagles are likely to turn to Jalen Hurts, though they also intend to bring in competition for him. The Eagles' starting job is not expected to automatically go to Hurts. Gotta figure that at least potentially includes them drafting someone.

Getzenberg was talking about that in the article referenced by the other thread. Unless we settle our QB issues soon, we're probably gonna be talking about that for years.

Finally got to where I could read it. Excerpts: The Panthers have holes all over the field, from offensive and defensive line to tight end and cornerback. Those needs have to be addressed, especially the lines, for any quarterback to come in to help lead a team to success. But there’s no denying finding a quarterback for the long-term is a key element in the NFL. It’s the reason why so many teams are in the hunt for one this offseason. Deshaun Watson’s surprise potential availability simply shifts the landscape for finding one. ... Just a year after the signing, the Panthers are including Bridgewater in trade proposals (see Matthew Stafford) and no public support has been given from Tepper, Rhule or Fitterer for Bridgewater being the Week 1 starter in 2021. But despite that, there’s a solid chance he will be. ... Tepper is very interested in bringing Watson to Carolina, as The Observer has reported over the last month. That sentence a year ago would have been shocking, which is another lesson that predicting anything too far into the future in the NFL is a waste of time. The quarterback dominoes continuing to fall, including Carson Wentz heading to Indianapolis, are evidence of that. It’s something to keep an eye on, but first the Houston Texans have to agree to trade Watson or engage in conversation about doing so, which they’ve said they won’t do. Taking a quarterback in the draft is of course on the table. Bridgewater being the starter in 2021 is arguably the strongest possibility; his $23 million cap hit makes a trade for him less likely, despite any wishes from Carolina. With regard to Bridgewater, she pretty much echoes what Voth was saying.

It's kind of like Two Face's coin. Probably not a stretch to say that Tepper was likely to move on from Newton regardless. We either needed to get a replacement that was going to be really good (with Justin Herbert likely being our best shot at that, but we fell one pick short) or just roll with somebody that was going to help us get the highest pick possible. Instead, we did what we always seemed to do under Marty; be just bad enough to miss the playoffs but just good enough to keep us out of range for the best draft prospects. I'm hoping those years are behind us. I won't miss them at all.

Our resident Kung Fu Master said something similar, and it's valid.

I could live with giving up Donte but both Rhule and Fitterer have talked him up as part of the future. I'd say they think more of him than I do. And of course it's their call.

Yeah, if I had that signature now it would probably be four empty slots and a picture representing the franchise tag

I'd say we're a lot closer to having a great D-Line than we are to having a great O-Line.

The word out of Houston has been that if they do the trade (which is definitely not happening right now) they'll want at least one and possibly two defensive starters in return. Brian Burns, Jeremy Chinn and Donte Jackson have been mentioned as examples. Burns probably makes the most sense since he'd give them a shot of replacing what they had in JJ Watt.

Me too, but it's been a while since we've had a line that I felt good about putting there.

Have done that before and might do that later, just not in a position to do it right now.

Any chance you could talk about the offensive line situation without using the word "Little"?

She's really good. Was just talking in another thread about Tepper being a bit of an ass to her at the Fitterer press conference.

Judy Batista thinks the Carson Wentz trade could serve as something of a "market correction".

I'm hitting the pay wall. Is it by Alaina Getzenberg or Jonathan Alexander?

My thing with Stafford is that we made an aggressive but still reasonable offer. Obviously it would take more to trade for Watson, but as long as that deal can still be considered "aggressive but reasonable" I'd be fine with it. If we don't get him under those conditions, that's disappointing but it's not the end of the world. If we do get him, but it's because Tepper stepped in and directed his football people to do more than they otherwise would have, that might be a good short term outcome but it's a bad precedent for the future.

I don't really think anybody is saying Teddy can be "the guy". It's more a thought that despite the team doing their best to replace him, that's what it might come down to. It's kind of like with the Matt Stafford trade. They gave it a good shot without overpaying, but weren't able to deal the deal. I'm okay with that. Another year of Bridgewater would suck, but I don't think it would be because of a lack of effort.

There are some people being stupid b-tches, but they're not players.

I definitely believe he should be. I seriously don't know if he is.