Panthers expected to visit Texans in extra 17th game being added to 2021 schedule
The NFL is expected to officially announce that a 17th game will be added to the schedule this week, according to a report by Adam Schefter at ESPN.
For the Carolina Panthers, that means they will be visiting the Houston Texans at some point during the regular season. Here is a look at all of the extra matchups that will be squeezed into the schedule, per Field Yates.
Usually most fans aren’t eager to get in line and watch a 5-11 team take on a 4-12 team, but this makes for an interesting matchup on all sorts of levels.
The question for both franchises at the moment is the same: who will be their starting quarterback next season?
On paper, if the game were today Teddy Bridgewater would be QB1 for Carolina and Deshaun Watson would start for Houston. There’s a very real possibility both will be playing for different teams in 2021, though.
Bridgewater has been the subject of trade speculation and reports for months after he bombed in the second half of last season. The Panthers tried to trade him to the Detroit Lions in a package for Matthew Stafford but were unable to. The San Francisco 49ers were also among teams that have called about Bridgewater before they made their big move up to No. 3 overall this week, ensuring they’ll be drafting their next quarterback instead of dealing for a veteran.
The biggest name that’s been attached to the Panthers is of course Watson, who has ascended to become one of the game’s top-three QBs. Carolina has been reported to be heavily interested – even obsessed – in dealing for him. ESPN has even gone so far as to predict that Watson will be playing for them next season.
That was five weeks and an eternity ago, though.
Watson has since been accused of sexual assault and harrassment by at least 16 women in a series of civil lawsuits filed in Houston. Their attorney Tony Buzbee claims 20 have been filed. Watson has denied the allegations and hired Rusty Hardin to defend him.
Despite Watson’s legal jeopardy, several teams around the NFL still want him. The latest that we’ve heard from the Athletic on that score is that the Panthers are “monitoring the situation,” but are counted among them.
