The Cleveland Browns have traded for QB Deshaun Watson and are giving him a new five-year deal.

Related Player: Baker Mayfield

Watson still faces punishment from the NFL as his legal troubles are not over. Watson has not played since 2020. Mayfield now stands to be traded to one of the team in dire need of a quarterback that would prefer to not start a rookie or sign any of the current free agents.

It’s a consequential moment not only for Tom Brady — who finished the 2021 season second in the league’s MVP voting — but also for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had been mulling over whether to pursue a Deshaun Watson trade this week. As recently as the NFL combine last week, Tampa Bay was believed to be high on the list of preferred trade destinations for the embattled Houston Texans quarterback. So much so that one team that was also weighing a serious pursuit of Watson told Yahoo Sports that it believed the Buccaneers would be the leading contender if Brady remained in retirement and Tampa Bay ultimately opened trade talks with the Texans.

His retirement lasted all of 40 days. This is obviously great news for all of the returning receivers, namely Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, who was slapped with the franchise tag last week. Brady will once again be ranked as a fantasy QB1 after two very solid seasons in Tampa.

The Texans expect the Dolphins to still be interested in trading for Deshaun Watson this offseason, and there could be more quarterback-needy teams in the mix, including the Broncos, Panthers, Eagles, Saints, Steelers and Washington Football Team.

There could be more of a bidding war once the season is over and leading up to the draft. Watson would have to waive his no-trade clause, however. Teams will likely still want Watson's 22 lawsuits to at least have more clarity before making a move.

Although the Dolphins did due diligence on Deshaun Watson and had conversations with Houston, Miami will not make a trade for the QB, per source.

Schefter went on to say Dolphins’ owner Stephen Ross, who had contingencies that needed to be met for any deal, made the final decision to not move forward. The Dolphins wanted Watson to settle his 22 lawsuits before completing the trade according to reports. Other reports said Watson was working on that, but then the Texans raised the price tag. If no trade is made today before 4 p.m., expect Watson to be inactive for the rest of the season, as has been the case every week to this point. The Texans will likely try to create another bidding war next year with the hope there is more resolution on Watson's legal issues. If not moved today, Watson can't be officially traded until March 16, 2022, the start of the league's new year, however talks can take place before that.

A few hours after Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross brushed away questions about possible interest in Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, a new report from longtime Houston Chronicle reporter John McClain indicated that Watson and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell are the only things now standing in the way of a trade.

Per McClain, the Dolphins and Texans have agreed on compensation and Ross has signed off on the deal, but on the condition that Watson settles his legal issues stemming from 22 accusations of sexual misconduct and that he gets some sort of indication from Goodell as to whether and for how many games Watson would be suspended under the league's personal conduct policy.

The story said Roger Goodell and the NFL don't have enough information from law enforcement investigations and would need more than it has in order to put him on commissioner’s exempt list. The story went on to say at this point, the one way for Watson to settle his legal issues would be to reach a settlement with his accusers, but McClain, citing league sources, says Watson doesn't want to do that because it would represent an admission of guilt. The deal reportedly will include the three first round picks but possibly something less than the two second round picks. However, the deal seems to be stuck in place for now.

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, who has a no-trade clause in his contract, is willing to consider multiple options for a new team as the trade deadline looms, a source told ESPN.

The story was mostly about how the Panthers could now be a major player after Sam Darnold was benched. Of course, Watson has preferred to be traded to the Dolphins according to several reports. This is a pretty fluid situation that will only get more interesting over the next week or possibly two. The story also mentioned the Broncos could be one of the teams now involved as well. Reports have also linked the Eagles. It looks like maybe the Texans have created themselves a bidding war.

Deshaun Watson is still a Texan. There is a belief, a good chance, that's not the case by the time the Nov. 2 trade deadline rolls around, Ian Rapoport reported.

Rapoport said there are multiple teams interested, including the usual suspect: the Dolphins, Eagles and Panthers. The Panthers benched Sam Darnold during a loss against the Giants Sunday while the Eagles are still unsure about Jalen Hurts after falling to 2-5. The Dolphins have been linked to Watson pretty much from the start. Rapoport added a few other interesting notes about Watson: He's apparently in great shape and the thought is he could step right in and play. And, indications from the NFL are, if he's traded, he wouldn't be placed on the the commissioner's exemption list, meaning he could play immediately after the trade. While that status could change depending on how investigations play out, it's been one of the bigger questions involving Watson and a trade this year.