Mage

He played behind a bad one every year after his rookie season and stayed healthy.

That was speculation.

He tore his first ACL at Clemson, before coming back and winning a Natty. Second torn ACL was in practice and had nothing to do with the OL.

Not going to get into the ethical side of the debate. However, one thing that people need to realize is that any scenario where Watson is traded, the draft picks will almost all certainly be conditional. It will likely work the same way the Colts trade for Wentz work. Neither Miami or Carolina are going to trade multiple non-conditional 1sts for Watson. They are all going to be conditional on the # of games he plays in 2022/2023 (although I'd be surprised to see him suspended more than 8 games, and a season-long suspension would almost certainly be appealed by the NFLPA).

It's hard to say. I think it is best to avoid judgment and assumptions right now, but that isn't the society we live in (and no, this is not me saying I think Watson is innocent... I do think he's definitely guilty of something, but that something won't become clearer until later if it ever does) It is possible they want it to be public because they weren't going to pay much for the settlement, which could give off the impression that the accusations weren't that much. On the other end, Buzbee might feel that making the settlement public does more harm to the women than keeping it private. So while it is a weird switch of things, I don't think we can make an assumption about what it means for either sides as far as being in the right vs wrong.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2021/05/21/tony-buzbee-confirms-demand-for-confidentiality-of-any-deshaun-watson-settlement/

Fair enough, I'm just confused as to why you wouldn't support a team for letting him play but will continue to support a league that will let him play.

Deshaun Watson is going to play football again. That is a 100% fact. So we should be okay with the league letting him play, just as long as he doesn't play for our team? Because that is what it boils down to.

??? Plenty of teams promote within and do so to great success. Rivera's issue wasn't necessarily promoting within, it was promoting people who clearly didn't deserve to be promoted. Sean Ryan has a much stronger resume than Mike Shula had. Ryan would have been a good OC hire at the time if we hadn't already nabbed Brady. And for whatever it's worth, Sean Ryan has experience with two QBs we've targeted... Matt Stafford and now, Deshaun Watson.

This is what I don't get. Why is it okay to follow a league that lets Watson play, but not the team?

I feel like our players don't suck though. I mean maybe I'm in the minority... but I still like a lot of our roster. It's the OL and QB that can be blamed for the majority of our problems. Rhule deserves criticism for not doing more for the OL in his 2 years here, but I think he deserves another offseason to prove that he is willing and able to make the upgrades necessary to that unit. I have confidence that the front office will spend the money to fix it.

I think we have our guy in Sean Ryan. Very well-respected around the league. A lot of experience working with talented QBs and WRs. Matt Stafford liked him a lot. I'd be surprised if he isn't next-in-like for OC.

I still believe in Rhule, and I think it is just hard for any HC to win games with a bad QB. Obviously yes, he deserves blame for deciding to hedge his bets on said QB. But he'd be far from the first good HC to make a poor decision at QB. I do think this team would absolutely be good enough to win with an elite QB like Watson, so we'll see how that goes. I will say, if a year from now, we're still in the same place, then yes it will be time to make a decision. But I don't know, the team isn't really underperforming to me. I expected them to be a mediocre team. They look like a mediocre team.

Just feel like we might be getting our hopes up.

I don't think we end up with Watson.

You don’t bench a QB in a still somewhat winnable game, just to spark the team. Panthers are definitely looking to move on

There’s way too much noise for us not to be in negotiations. What reason do you have to think we aren’t in talks?

Joe Person wouldn’t tweet that if he hadn’t heard from someone.

I’m not taking any side in this debate, but as someone who always defended Rivera and think he got too much criticism at times… I think you’re giving him way too much credit for that “plan.” Any HC who drafted Cam would have implemented a lot of zone read option looks.

Yeah I really can't see him or his lawyers letting this go to trial.

Lol DJ Moore is literally known for being an elite yards after the catch guy and breaking tackles, and you got people in this thread accusing him of being soft and lacking tenacity? Come on now.

Yeah, like... If you don't want Watson for his off-the-field issues? I get that. But if we're strictly talking value and the return we'd get from Watson, giving up 1st round picks and one or two starters would absolutely be worth it. Everyone loves to point out that the Texans were bad last year, but ish happens. Teams with great QBs, which Watson is, are usually competitive and good. An elite QB makes up for a lot. And the Texans had 2 10+ win seasons with Watson despite being an overall average team. He makes up for a lot of holes. If you want to be great, you have to be aggressive. The Rams have been doing just fine while giving up endless 1st round picks. Watson is too good not to be worth it. But again, that is just talking about his value on-the-field. Off-the-field is a different debate. Me, personally... I try to just enjoy the sport. And when I say that, I'm not implying that I want to sweep Watson's issues under the rug. He 100% deserves to be punished by the league and by the law, if found guilty. But at the end of the day, I'm a Panthers fan and I'm going to root for the Panthers to succeed. If we're doing it with a bad human at QB, then so be it. Lotta bad people in a lot of prominent positions in life. Sucks, but Watson is either going to play quarterback here or he is going to play quarterback somewhere else. That's just the fact of the matter. And as sad as it is to say, two years from now, this won't really be a huge talking point. It is how it goes. So many examples out there, including guys in the NFL currently. And FWIW, I'm of the belief that the NFL should have long put Watson on the exempt list. I don't think he should play this season. So I'm not trying to excuse Watson or make it seem like I'm a fan of his. I'm not. Just that, the reality is he is going to play. And a bad guy winning games for my team is a lot better than a bad guy winning games for another team.

Why take unnecessary contact? There were hella defenders around him.

How long have ya'll be following sports? Nobody is going to protest Watson playing. Again, not trying to downplay what Watson is accused of because it is TERRIBLE and I do think we shouldn't touch him, but at the end of the day, as sad and cruel as this may sound... Watson is going to play in the NFL again and this all will, in all likelihood, be mostly forgotten or swept under the rug. We've seen this time and time again.

Having a QB solves everything I mean think about how bad Houston was, and yet they still had 2 10+ win seasons with him. Do I want this to happen? No, but only because Watson has way too much baggage off-the-field right now. But if we're just talking about the player on the field? He'd definitely be worth 3 1st round picks, even if it made it more difficult to fix the OL.