49ers meeting with Deshaun Watson except they aren’t

The 49ers are reportedly meeting with Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, but the reports are awfully conflicted and contradictory.

A year ago, the San Francisco 49ers were heavily interested in Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, only dropping that interest in the wake of news of off-field allegations of sexual misconduct, the ramifications from which may still carry over into the 2022 season.

Perhaps in response, the Niners elected to trade up to the No. 3 overall spot in last year’s NFL Draft, subsequently grabbing quarterback Trey Lance as the presumed heir apparent for their veteran starter, Jimmy Garoppolo, who’s expected to be moved in advance of the start of the league new year on March 16.

And while any criminal charges on Watson have since passed from his allegations, it’s still possible he could face a suspension this year despite not playing a single snap for the rebuilding Texans, with whom he’s been trying to work a trade for some time now.

Multiple reports have both the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers as possible front-runners for a trade with Houston for Watson.

Although, according to Jordan Schultz, San Francisco is planning on meeting with Watson, too:

This wouldn’t be the best of signs for Lance, who went 1-1 over two starts in relief of an injured Garoppolo last season. Considering how much the 49ers gave up to draft Lance, and what it would take to then trade for Watson, it’s not hard to see the poor management process.

But what if it’s a false report?

Read More: 49ers 2022 NFL free agency tracker: Who’s coming and going?

Multiple reports refute 49ers meeting with Deshaun Watson

Needless to say, Schultz’s report about the Niners scheduling a meeting with Watson generated plenty of attention and speculation in the immediate minutes thereafter.

And one of San Francisco’s own beat reporters, NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco, immediately refuted the report and stated the 49ers were not meeting with Watson after all:

On the national level, Good Morning Football’s Peter Schrager also corroborated Maiocco’s follow-up report:

So, assuming the latter two reports are more correct than the first, it still appears as if San Francisco is still fully invested in Lance heading into 2022.

Welcome to the offseason rumor mill, everyone.