Deshaun Watson won’t face criminal charges, clearing a path to him being traded soon

Deshaun Watson will NOT face criminal charges related to the allegations made against him. This much was determined by a grand jury on Friday.

Watson is hardly out of the woods when it comes to potential punishment. There are still 22 civil cases open against him and he’s still subject to discipline via the NFL’s investigation into him.

But with criminal charges out of the way, Watson’s trade market is reportedly expected to quickly pick up ahead of the new league year.

This much is relevant to the Philadelphia Eagles, of course, because there’s a rather lengthy timeline of them being interested in him. Just earlier this week, former Eagles president Joe Banner said the Eagles are “the most likely landing spot for Watson.”

On the flip side, some have pointed out that plugged-in Houston reporter Aaron Wilson recently wrote a Watson article where the Eagles were identified among the teams who will NOT be dealing for him. Here’s what he wrote:

Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman previously conducted significant due diligence on Watson before last season. The Eagles even sent an investigator to Houston to look into the legal situation and contact Rusty Hardin, Watson’s attorney, per sources. However, Watson has never been inclined to waive his no-trade clause for the Eagles. Moreover, Philadelphia has publicly committed to Jalen Hurts as their quarterback.

Indeed, Wilson was the first to report that Watson would not waive his no-trade clause to Philly. He wrote as much back in August 2021.

The thing about that, though, is ... what if the Eagles are the only team willing to acquire him? Or if it’s the Eagles and another undesirable landing spot? For example, I’ve seen it rumored that Watson also doesn’t want to play in Carolina, where Matt Rhule might be a lame duck head coach.

Also, the Eagles publicly committing to Hurts doesn’t really mean they’re not looking to upgrade the most important position in all of sports. The Eagles reportedly made a trade offer for Russell Wilson despite publicly committing to Hurts.

Until Watson is traded elsewhere, one must consider there’s a non-zero chance he lands on the Eagles. Such a development would understandably anger a lot of Eagles fans given the nature of the allegations made against him.

But it’s a situation that bears monitoring closely here over the next few days.