We still don’t know where Deshaun Watson is headed, but his communications with the teams interested in his services are continuing.
The Saints met with Watson a second time on Wednesday night, according to longtime Saints reporter Nick Underhill. That makes New Orleans the first team to be identified as having two meetings with Watson.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the Saints are the leaders for Watson’s services, but it appears that they’ve had one more meeting with him than the Browns, Falcons and Panthers, who are also interested.
The Saints have also been creating cap space by restructuring players’ contracts, and Field Yates of ESPN reports that they’re now up to $29.9 million in cap space. Watson will have a $35 million cap hit on his current contract, so that’s how much space the Saints would need to acquire him. It’s possible that they could create another $5.1 million in cap space by including a player with a salary of at least $5.1 million to the Texans as part of the deal. Bottom line, if the Saints don’t get Watson, the salary cap won’t be the reason.
Watson has a no-trade clause in his contract, which gives him significant control over where he plays, and so far he hasn’t decided on his preferred destination.
Although a grand jury decided not to charge Watson after multiple female massage therapists accused him of sexual assault, the NFL could still suspend him for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. The possibility of a suspension does not, however, seem to be preventing teams from lining up for the chance to acquire Watson.
