The Miami Dolphins will not trade for elite but embattled quarterback Deshaun Watson — at least not this season.
The Dolphins will let the NFL’s trade deadline pass at 4 p.m. on Tuesday with no deal struck between the Dolphins and Houston Texans for Watson, according to ESPN.
The Dolphins can get nine more games of evaluation of second-year quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Coach Brian Flores’ repeated assertion that “Tua’s our quarterback,” which he used often in the past two weeks when pressed by media on the team’s trade talks, turned out to be true.
According to NFL Network, Dolphins owner Steve Ross received permission to speak with Watson, but only as of Monday night. With complications to bringing in a quarterback facing 22 civil lawsuits of sexual misconduct, two of which allege sexual assault, there was not enough time to appease Ross’ concerns.
With the trade deadline passing on Tuesday, the next time teams can make trades will be at the start of the new league year in March.
Watson is a three-time Pro Bowl quarterback with two playoff appearances in his four prior seasons with the Texans. He has not played for Houston this season amid the civil suits accusing him of coercive and lewd sexual behavior with female massage therapists, with two that allege sexual assault. He has not been charged criminally, and his lawyer has denied the accusations.
In their lawsuits, the 22 women accuse Watson of exposing himself, touching them with his penis or kissing them against their will during massage appointments. In the sexual assault claims, Watson was accused in both cases to have pressured women to perform oral sex during massages and was accused in one of also having grabbed a woman’s buttocks and vagina. Watson’s lawyers have said “some sexual activity” happened during some of the appointments but that he never coerced anyone.
Watson was initially linked to the Dolphins at the start of the past offseason early in 2021. As his first accusers began coming forward in March, talks cooled down with Miami committing to Tagovailoa, whom the franchise used the No. 5 pick in the 2020 draft to acquire.
Reports and rumors resurfaced toward the end of August during the preseason without them ever escalating to the point of the Dolphins making a move. Tagovailoa then missed three weeks during the regular season with fractured ribs suffered on Sept. 19 against the Buffalo Bills.
Upon his return on Oct. 17 against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, reports reached a fever pitch with Houston media, citing anonymous sources, reporting the Dolphins and Texans were close to a trade that could be finalized within a week.
While Miami affirmed it was pleased with Tagovailoa at quarterback last week, Flores said little to distance the team from the Watson rumors, often reiterating the same “Tua’s our quarterback” line whenever pressed on the topic.
Tagovailoa’s last start before the trade deadline was “not up to par,” he said, following Sunday’s 26-11 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, N.Y., that dropped the Dolphins to 1-7. He completed 21 of 39 passes for 205 yards, an interception and a rushing touchdown.
In his start the week prior against the Atlanta Falcons, a 30-28 loss on Oct. 24, Tagovailoa threw for a career-high four touchdowns while completing 80% of passes to collect 291 yards. He threw two questionable interceptions but did respond from them to lead a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown drives, bringing the Dolphins back from down, 27-14, to lead, 28-27, before the Falcons won with a field goal as time expired.
In 53 career NFL starts, Watson has a 67.8 completion percentage, throwing for 14,539 yards, 104 touchdowns and 36 interceptions. He has added 1,677 rushing yards and 17 more scores on the ground.
His best passing season came in 2020. He was above a 70% completion rate for the first time in his career, threw for a league-leading 4,823 yards and tossed 33 touchdowns.
Watson was drafted by the Texans with the No. 12 pick of the 2017 NFL draft after a standout career at Clemson that was capped by a College Football Playoff national championship victory over Alabama at the end of the 2016 season.
