Why did the Panthers fail to land their QB crush?
So why did the Panthers fail to trade for Deshaun Watson? It is very simple and can be answered with one name, Matt Rhule. The Panthers and David Tepper have been eyeing Watson since reports came out that he wanted out of Houston. Once Watson was freed from facing criminal charges, then the organization was all in on trading for the three-time Pro Bowler.
This article is not to defend the quest for Watson, but just the reality of why they were not able to trade for the highly sought out quarterback. Many reports out said that “money wasn’t an issue” when it came to putting together an offer. John Ellis, @1Pantherplace, even said that he believed Caserio (Texan’s GM), thought the Panthers were an ideal trade partner.
Panthers could provide a lot of what was being reported that the Texans were seeking in a trade. The starting price was three first-round picks, then as the market grew, it was said they wanted some young starters as well. The Panthers defense had players to fit that ask including Jeremy Chinn, Brian Burns, Derrick Brown, and Jaycee Horn. All of them are on rookie contracts and defensive starters.
Not only did the team have the players to trade, but also have the number six overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. That comes with a lot of value when dealing in a trade. That pick alone could help the Texans rebuild with a cornerstone player on either side of the ball. It is especially valuable to an organization that has lots of holes to fill up and down its roster. The Texans already have the number three pick, but then would have two within the top seven picks in the draft.
Those are the reasons the Texans would be interested in trading with Carolina. Now, what could the Panthers offer to Watson that would make him trade his No-Trade Clause? Well, let’s start with the supporting cast.
Watson would get to throw to DJ Moore who has had three 1,000 yard receiving seasons in his first four seasons. All of that being with bottom QB play and constant turnover at the position. The team has also done a good job at providing depth in that room with additions like Robby Anderson, Terrance Marshall Jr., Shi Smith, and just added Rashard Higgins. That provides Deshaun plenty of quality receivers to throw to.
The biggest selling piece on offense the Panthers have is Christian McCaffery. Now, he has dealt with some injury issues over the past two seasons that have kept him off the field. However, most of those have been freak accidents and not re-occurring injuries. Not only is he an All-Pro Running Back, but the best receiving back in the NFL.
Now, let’s look at the other side of the ball and the side that would try to get Watson the ball back as much as possible. The Panthers had the second-ranked defense in the entire league at one point in the season. They struggled most of the year against the run but stayed steady in pass defense. This is still a young defense that is only going to get better. That progress could be hindered if the team had to give away some of their cornerstone defensive starters in the trade. It is still at least a selling point compared to say Atlanta, who had one of the worst defenses last year.
The final selling point is that it would be close to where Watson played college football at, Clemson University. Familiarity can make a player feel more at ease when making a change in teams. Arguably would be the area that would be the most willing to support him as he tries to repair his image after an ongoing legal battle. Although, in Joe Person’s (Reporter with The Athletic) survey to Panther fans, 54.3% of respondents said that the Panthers should not trade for Deshaun.
Those are some of the arguments that the organization could make to Watson and his camp. Let’s go over why ultimately their full-court press did not persuade Watson to waive his clause and Tepper had to watch his crush pair with an NFC South rival.
There are multiple reasons that Watson would not be interested in coming to the Carolina’s, but the glaring reason is the coach he would play for. Matt Rhule is going into year three with a record of 10–23. To say Rhule has been a failure in his early NFL career would be an understatement. He has now swung and missed at two different quarterbacks after releasing the organization’s most impactful player, changed a long-standing culture that Ron Rivera had created within the locker room, shown terrible game management skills, and has relied too heavily on surrounding himself with former Baylor/Temple players and staff.
Watson would be going to a team that has a head coach who has not got a public vote of confidence from the owner and one that has the hottest seat in the NFL. This would not make anyone feel comfortable joining a new team. However, if Tepper wants Watson, then he could allow him to be a part of the inevitable 2023 head coach search.
At the end of the day, David Tepper only has himself to blame for not being able to seal the deal. He had every opportunity and reason to fire Matt after year two of his seven-year contract. First, the contract never made sense for a college guy coming in with almost no NFL experience. Second, with the money that Tepper has, it would be nothing for him to buy Rhule out. It seems as if the owner is too prideful to admit his mistake of hiring Rhule and is going to allow him to continue to set back the organization.
Panther fans deserve at least an entertaining product on the field. The Carolinas love their Panthers and just want to get back to winning football. It is obvious that Rhule is not the head coach to do that, and Tepper has also made moves that have made the fans feel detached more than ever. Of course, winning solves all issues. If Dave wants to see a return on his $2.7 Billion investment, then he should focus on hiring people that know what they are doing and stay the hell of the way.
What is next? It seems like the Panthers will still look to trade or sign a quarterback via the veteran market. This makes sense since Matt would not want to put his job on the line for a rookie. Plus, many have reported that they like the value of a Left Tackle at pick number six. That means the board must line up correctly, but they should have plenty of options that would be an immediate upgrade to an offensive line that was the second-worst statistically in the NFL.
Some of those QB options include Jimmy Garoppolo, Jamies Winston, Marcus Mariota, and possibly others via trade. These aren’t top-tier options as the organization and fans would want, but it would still be an improvement play they saw from Sam Darnold last season. It would be a good idea for the team to go this route as well because the QB they get this year could be a bridge QB then draft a young talent to learn under him. A veteran QB also wouldn’t put it out of the question that they might take a chance on a guy late in this year’s draft. It did work for Fitterer while he was in Seattle.
The organization did not handle letting go of Cam Newton correctly, failed at replacing him when signing Teddy Bridgewater, then dug their grave further by trading for Sam Darnold. They even had the opportunity to draft Justin Fields in the 2021 draft but decided to go with Jaycee Horn. It has been one bad decision after another since Tepper has taken over and since he gave the keys to the castle to Rhule.
Dave would be wise to move on from Rhule after the 2022 season and allow Scott Fitterer to help move the team in the right direction. However, Tepper is unpredictable and has been ghosting the public since the season ended. He has been just as absent as Rhule’s team has been in the third quarter. Let’s hope that something will change and change fast. Fans are getting restless and are threatening to boycott the team.
