NFL Trade Deadline: 3 reasons the Panthers need to trade for Deshaun Watson
The Carolina Panthers started the season rolling. They won their first three games of the season after trading for quarterback Sam Darnold before the season began. A couple of weeks into the season, they traded for cornerbacks C.J. Henderson and Stephon Gilmore.
All seemed well at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC, but things quickly derailed.
Running back Christian McCaffrey left midgame in the Week 3 game against the Houston Texans, and the Panthers placed him on the injured reserve list.
Henderson has missed two games so far and has not seemed healthy since missing the Week 6 game against the Minnesota Vikings, and Gilmore has yet to take the field due to being on the PUP List.
The Panthers also placed rookie cornerback Jaycee Horn on injured reserve, after Week 3 against the Texans.
It was time for all the other players to step up, but what happened was the opposite. The injuries hurt the Panthers, but it hit quarterback Sam Darnold particularly hard.
League and team sources expect the Panthers to be involved in the Deshaun Watson trade talks.
3 reasons a trade for Deshaun Watson makes sense to the Panthers
#1 Watson is better than Darnold
Watson is a three-time Pro Bowler who led the NFL in passing yards last season.
Darnold has yet to win an award as a pro.
Many analysts saw Watson as an equal to Kansas City Chiefs Patrick Mahomes, and the same analysts said that Watson vs. Mahomes would be the Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning of this generation.
Darnold failed to impress when playing for the New York Jets, and he is following the same path with the Panthers.
#2 Watson can play by himself
Great quarterbacks find ways of winning regardless of whom he has to support him—Brady went to an AFC Championship game with Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins as wide receivers.
Watson proved he can do that; the Texans last year only had Brandin Cooks as a reliable wide receiver, and the quarterback led the league in passing yards.
Darnold played fantastic football, while McCaffrey carried the workload. Since the running back went away with an injury, he never played at the same level again.
#3 Watson may be the spark the Panthers need
Head coach Matt Rhule benched Darnold in the fourth-quarter loss to the New York Giants; he explained his decision after the game by saying:
“[the team] need somewhat of a spark.”
For good and bad today, few quarterbacks shine as brightly as superstar Watson.
The Panthers have maintained they wouldn't get involved in the Deshaun Watson trade talks unless something changed. It changed Sunday.
theathletic.com/news/panthers-…