Dolphins’ Chris Grier discusses Deshaun Watson pursuit, Tua, Herbert what angers him, more

Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said Wednesday that the Dolphins inquired about a trade for disgruntled Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson because he’s compelled to explore every potential move that could improve the team.

“My job as general manager is to investigate every avenue on players that may or may not be available,” Grier said. “I don’t think it’s any different from any player on the roster. We’ve done that from Day 1. That’s how every team operates. In terms of what discussions were had and what people asked for,... no trade was made. We decided not to make a deal.

“You go through these processes and talk through these things and we go forward with the team we have. We never got to a point of where anything would be realistic as far as happening.

“If there is a player considered one of the top players in the NFL, you have to look at it and try to go for it. It has nothing to do with not believing in Tua [Tagovailoa]. We’re very happy with Tua.”

Watson, who has a no-trade clause, approved a trade only to Miami. The Dolphins and Texans spoke for months — and owner Stephen Ross received permission to speak to Watson on Monday — but the Dolphins decided not to pursue the trade at this time.

Watson now cannot be traded until March 16, 2022, and the Dolphins could pursue him again next spring.

Will they pursue Watson again?

“You get through the season and you keep evaluating the entire roster,” Grier said. “Once the offseason comes, we’ll make decisions.”

But if the team is confident in Tagovailoa, why pursue Watson?

“If a player available is viewed as one of the top players in the league, you look at it. At any position, O-line, D-line, we’re going to investigate it and do it. We are very happy with Tua. He’s developing well. He’s working hard and showing lots of improvements, and we think he will be the player we think he can be.”

But why pursue a player who is being criminally investigated and facing 22 civil suits from massage therapists?

“We’re doing background work and investigating everything,” Grier said. “Just because we do that doesn’t mean we’re going to do a deal. Every situation is unique. This was a unique situation.”

Did the team request for the 22 women to sign non-disclosure agreements as part of potential settlements of their civil lawsuits? The attorney for the women suggested the Dolphins might have been involved in wanting that.

“Any suggestion that this organization would be dealing behind the scenes and trying to influence decisions is absolutely ridiculous and categorically false,” Grier said angrily and emotionally. “To say we would be involved in that is flat wrong and pisses me off.”

But how did it look to pursue a player surrounded by these types of allegations?

“We did our due diligence to gather as much information as we can.,” he said. “We decided as an organization not to pursue a trade.”

Were the Dolphins concerned about potential criminal charges - a Texas grand jury is investigating 10 criminal complaints - before deciding not to make the trade?

“There were lot of unknowns and that’s part of it,” Grier said.

Was the team concerned about an outcry from women if the Dolphins made the trade?

“There are a lot of factors and we talked through all those things,” Grier said.

Because of the allegations against Watson, Grier said he would have spoken to the organization’s women employees if a trade had gotten closer.

Grier was asked if the Dolphins will continue looking at adding a new quarterback during the offseason.

“We’re always evaluating the roster,” he said. “Right now, the focus is win as many games as you can during the season. We’ll deal with free agency and draft after the season.”

Would you handle this Watson situation differently if you had it to do over?

“The one thing that [Dolphins coach] Brian [Flores] and Tua have mentioned is communication with Tua. We’ve had talks with his agent behind the scenes. A lot of the stories that came out about how this was going was false — 90 percent. We believe in Tua. Brian has been consistent with the messaging.”

How often was Grier in contact with Houston? “I’m not going to get into how often,” he said.

But why allow another team use the Dolphins as leverage, as Houston appeared to do?

“Because I can’t come out here and deny and say this is false, false, false,” Grier said. “I’ve never commented publicly on anything. I don’t deal with the media. It’s rare for me to speak during the season.”

Asked if the team made a mistake by drafting Tagovailoa over Justin Herbert, who went sixth to the Chargers and has had a better start to his career?

“I will leave that for you to judge,” Grier said. “We felt good about Tua. There are a lot of things we like about Tua. We like Justin, too. We spent time with both players. We are happy where Tua is right now.”

He disputed a CBS report that Flores wanted Herbert before the draft.

Grier, speaking during a season for the first time since making the Laremy Tunsil trade in 2019, addressed two other issues before the team ended in the interview after 11 minutes:

▪ On the 1-7 start: “We’ve added some good young players. Last year, we won 10 games. This year, we’re 1-7. No one is happy. We’re all frustrated and trying to turn this around in the second half of the season. We’ve added good young players and are happy where they are.”

▪ In moving from No. 3 to No. 12 to No. 6 in the past draft, the Dolphins picked up 49ers first-round picks in 2022 and 2023 but sent their own 2022 first rounder to Philadelphia, a pick that now stands third overall.

Did Grier ask the Eagles to take the 49ers’ first-round pick in 2022 (which now stands 13th) instead of Miami’s own?

Grier refused to say.

So why not just stay at No. 3 and keep your own first-rounder in 2022? Any regrets?

“We made the best decision we thought for us. When we made the decision, we felt good about it. I’m not going to hindsight and second guess. Jaylen Waddle has been a good player for us. We’re happy with him. He will continue to be a very good player. We’re happy for his future.”