T.J. Watt Deshaun Watson

Kimberly Martin included the Steelers in the list of teams to follow the case of Deshawn Watson; La Canfora says they won’t trade

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Many teams are said to have been actively following today’s developments in the trial of Pro Bowl Houston Texans quarterback Deshawn Watson. The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the teams most in need of the quarterback position. But are they willing to pay the price — capital investment, cap space, and damage to public relations — to pursue Watson in a deal?

According to ESPN’s Kimberly A. Martin, she was told that the Steelers were among five teams that she was told had either been interested in Watson for a while or were “closely following today’s grand jury result”.

These are two quite different things, although it can be imagined that if a team is closely following a player’s trial, they know that they could potentially try to get that player. The Panthers, Saints, Browns and Seahawks are other teams mentioned by Martin, who also noted that the Eagles’ interest in Watson “seems to have cooled off lately.”

Conversely, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports that the Steelers “are not going to be involved in the pursuit of Deshawn Watson.” Of course, the Steelers may have been keeping a close eye on Watson’s trial date, but also decided not to trade for him.

Ultimately, we know no more than a week ago about Pittsburgh’s potential interest in Watson. There was an earlier report by Sean King in which he stated that the player’s “preferred” destination would be Pittsburgh, but he did not state that Pittsburgh intended to pursue him.

Watson has a no-trade clause in his contract and is looking for a team with a strong head coach, good defense and a good offensive line. The Steelers would fit two out of three scores and they could work on a third (line) this offseason.

It was also stated that Watson has no plans to rush into any decision and would like to speak to some teams first before making a decision. Of course, it’s the Texans who ultimately have to pull the trigger for a trade, but they can only do so with a team that Watson is willing to drop his no-trade clause for.

Be that as it may, local Browns reports also indicate that the Clevelands are one of the teams that are looking into the Watson case, although it has not yet been determined whether it will try to trade the quarterback.

However, it lends some credibility to Martin’s roster, and the Panthers have previously tried to acquire Watson through a trade — he didn’t waive his no-trade clause last season. The Seahawks are also expected to show interest.

Meanwhile, local reporters for the Steelers have been steadily and consistently reporting that either the team is not going after Watson, or at least it won’t be. Martin’s report is the first significant national report that appears to link Pittsburgh to any interest in Watson.

Update: Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson now also reports that the Steelers are not expected to be among the teams to trade Deshawn Watson. Wilson is generally one of the most trusted information providers in the business. However, that doesn’t mean they didn’t follow his trial, as Martin revealed, and doesn’t mean they can’t race. But of course it won’t be surprising if they sit through it.