Although the Miami Dolphins did due diligence on Deshaun Watson and had conversations with the Houston Texans, they will not make a trade for the quarterback before Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross had contingencies that needed to be met for any deal and made the final decision to not move forward, according to the source.
Watson, who asked to be traded in January because he was unhappy with the process Houston used to hire new general manager Nick Caserio, has been a healthy scratch all season for the Texans.
Less than two months after Watson’s trade request, the first of 23 lawsuits was filed against him. There are 22 active lawsuits with allegations of sexual assault or sexually inappropriate behavior during massage sessions against Watson.
Ten women have filed complaints with Houston police against Watson, his attorney Rusty Hardin told ESPN’s John Barr in July. According to Hardin, eight of them are among the women who have filed suits against Watson; two have not sued the quarterback.
Watson’s trade request came less than six months after the quarterback signed a four-year, $156 million extension with the Texans that keeps him under contract through the 2025 season. The deal made him the second-highest paid player in the NFL, behind Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. As part of that contract, Watson has a no-trade clause, which gives him some control over possible trade destinations.
After skipping the Texans’ offseason workouts, Watson reported to training camp in July to avoid being fined $50,000 per day.
Watson has been on the active roster all season and the Texans are paying him his $10.54 million salary for 2021. He goes to the facility but does not practice with the team. He has been ruled out with a non-injury related designation on the injury report each week.