A firestorm of discussion linking Deshaun Watson to the Carolina Panthers emerged after a misreported story involving ESPN’s David Newton. Imagine that, a misreported story involving David Newton. What’s wilder is that Newton wasn’t the source of the misreporting. Last week, Newton participated in an ESPN article where all 32 beat writers posed a bold prediction. Newton presented that the Panthers would make a push for Watson involving three 1st round draft picks and Chrisitan McCaffrey. A bold prediction, offseason burn piece, was mistaken as a report that the Panthers, in fact, had made the offer. Social media took off with the headline, and FSN1 ran it on their bottom line. Newton quickly clarified on Twitter that it was a bit-piece, not a report.

This isn’t the first time conjecture has misconstrued in sports reporting. Surely, @adarnschefter will dupe us all again in the future. Interestingly, this story hasn’t disappeared despite Newton’s reminder that it was a misreport. Today, CBS’s Jason La Canfora published a story titled, “Don't underestimate David Tepper and the Panthers in the Deshaun Watson sweepstakes.” The article’s title was far more cautious than La Canfora’s piece-pumping tweet, where he wrote, “Regardless of what was or wasn’t offered, yet, make no mistake: @Panthers owner David Tepper has his eyes set on a certain QB, and is highly motivated to land him.”

La Canfora’s piece straddled a line of speculation and loose-reporting, ultimately concluding that all signs show that David Tepper is tired of not having an elite quarterback and that the boldness he has exhibited as his time as an owner and as a hedge fund manager, only supports the idea that he would be wildly interested in acquiring Watson. Don’t be fooled about Tepper’s patience in the early years of his ownership, La Canfora warned, “Tepper” he wrote has been more patient with this franchise to this point than many had anticipated. But that by no means should fool one into thinking he is a particularly patient man by nature.”

The piece moved on to cite the growing sense that Tepper was dissatisfied with a “game-manager quarterback,” and that he was ready to “pounce on the best proven, young, elite passer that potentially could be available, and that has him fixed on Watson for a multitude of reasons.” Here’s where the things get hazy. La Canfora blends a sourced report that Tepper is dissatisfied with a “game-manager” with the contention that he had his sights set on Watson. The story retreats a bit, describing the Panthers owner as “over having to watch his team operate with Cam Newton navigating through injuries, or Kyle Allen trying to display he is more than a lower-tier backup, or Teddy Bridgewater dink-and-dunk and protect the football.”

La Canfora then crafts a treatise on why Watson would make sense, mainly citing Tepper’s desire to create a multi-state football franchise that spreads roots farther into South Carolina. The logical link in furthering this plan, bring in Watson because of his ties to Clemson, he concludes.

La Canfora ended by warning, “So prepare to hear much more about the Panthers and the Texans quarterback as the weeks go by. Some of it might seem outlandish. Some of it not. But I'd anticipate Carolina being willing to meet quite a steep price to land Watson, and Watson's resolve to never play again for Houston cannot be discounted.”

After reading La Canfora’s piece, I didn’t think it was more than logical speculation. A team searching for a star quarterback and a star quarterback trying to get out of Houston, I mean, anyone could draw that type of conclusion about half the league’s teams. Of course if you are a team in need of a quarterback, you’d try to shop for Watson. That’s not reporting, however. It’s logic-based conjecture.

As I dismissed this story as “speculative” and “brewing hype,” Riot Report’s Josh Klein “assured” me that it wasn’t mere speculation. He reminded that La Canfora’s piece was basically what local reporters “have been saying for months.” I was a little shocked when Klein authoritatively supported La Canfora’s take. Generally, the local beat writers have a knack for dismissing most of this chatter as conjecture. Klein was adamant that this talk shouldn’t be ignored, however.

So how much of this is speculation, or are there real legs to this? Panthers media is holding the company line, sarcastically tempering fan expectations when available. As far as I can gather, nothing much has changed, nor has any new information surfaced. In recent weeks, Carolina has been awkwardly open about the need for a quarterback change. General Manager Scott Fitterer declared, “we will be on every deal” in his opening presser. Days later, Carolina made a sincere play for Matthew Stafford. Overshadowing all of this has been Deshaun Watson’s desire to be traded as Carolina remains outside the ideal range to land a quarterback in the draft.

Is Carolina in the market for a quarterback? Yes. Would they likely be willing to deal with Houston? One would think. Do they have what it takes to land him? I don’t know. We can develop theoretical trade proposals, much like David Newton did, but that’s still all conjecture--until it’s not.

I’d love for Carolina to land Watson. I’m not even going to quantify it with the phrase “if it is at the right price.” I’m not getting my hopes up either. The Panthers have tipped their hand enough, so much so, they have likely jeopardized a top quarterback “slipping” to eight. As news swirls about Carolina’s desperate hunt for an elite quarterback, the higher the price tag for that quarterback will become, whether that’s via the draft or in a trade for Watson. LaCanfora was right. Be prepared to hear a lot about Watson to the Panthers, but whether it’s conjecture or something more is still to be determined.

By Tony Dunn

Follow @Cat_Chronicles for the latest Panthers news and opinions from the fan perspective.