The QB carousel simply doesn’t slow down in the NFL.
Following news of trades involving Russell Wilson to the Broncos Tuesday and Carson Wentz to the Commanders on Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Steelers could be the next domino to fall in the offseason quarterback search.
According to a report from former NFL QB and current radio host Shaun King, who resides in Las Vegas, the Steelers and Houston Texans could work out a trade for much maligned QB Deshaun Watson “soon after” Friday’s grand jury evidence hearing, should the results from Friday’s court hearing be “positive.”
Exactly how credible this report is remains to be seen, as none of the major insiders have reported anything of the sort, but it is interesting to hear King go on the record stating this.
Of course, the major holdup in any Watson transaction is the large number of allegations and criminal complaints he’s facing.
A grand jury is expected to hear evidence Friday in a possible criminal investigation surrounding Watson, who has been accused by 22 women of sexual assault or sexual misconduct during massage therapy sessions. Ten of the 22 women filed criminal complaints against Watson last year, while several of those plaintiffs have received subpoenas to testify on Friday in the criminal investigation, according to the Houston Chronicle. Watson is also scheduled to testify.
King is a former NFL quarterback and member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Super Bowl XXXVII championship team. Currently, King co-hosts a radio show each weeknight, and previously served as a studio analyst for ESPN on college football and the Arena Football League, and worked as an NFL analyst for NBC Sports Network, Yahoo! Sports, FOX Sports Net and Versus.
Extreme caution needs to be taken with this report as, again, it’s unclear how credible it is coming from King and none of the other major insiders across the NFL media landscape.
Prior to Watson’s legal issues, he had previously requested a trade from the Texans, who refused to move their then-star quarterback. Trade talks between the Texans and Miami Dolphins reportedly heated up at the trade deadline last season, but nothing came to fruition. Should Watson’s court hearing have a positive outcome Friday in Houston, that does open the door for the Texans to successfully move him. It’s just hard to see the Steelers being the ones to take on that off-field baggage while giving up the necessary draft capital and potential players to do it.
For what it’s worth, former NFL executive Joe Banner, who co-owns the 33rd Team with Mike Tannenbaum, laid out a potential landing spot for Watson, should his legal issues be cleared up. Interestingly enough, the Steelers weren’t even mentioned.
Steelers Insider and Post-Gazette writer Gerry Dulac threw cold water on King’s report quickly on Wednesday, stating that the Steelers are not interested in “signing” Watson, though Dulac likely means trading for him. Take that however you may.
