Point: Panthers have to do everything to trade for Deshaun Watson, no matter the cost

Give Houston the house.

This column about why the Carolina Panthers should do practically anything to pry quarterback Deshaun Watson away from the Houston Texans is about 500 words long, but you can boil it down to just those four.

Trade Christian McCaffrey to make it happen? Yes.

Multiple first-round draft picks, too? Yes.

Teddy Bridgewater. Absolutely.

Brian Burns? I’d hate to do it, but yes.

An elite NFL quarterback who is 25 years old, has roots to your area and is signed to a manageable contract?! That’s Watson, and that’s also the dream of every NFL team.

A high-level QB can take you to places your team will otherwise never go. Witness Tom Brady at Tampa Bay this season. Yes, the Buccaneers also won the Super Bowl with defense, but most of that defense and almost all of those receivers were there before. The difference was No. 12.

I know what you’re saying, and my colleague Alaina Getzenberg makes a totally reasonable case for the opposing viewpoint in our dueling columns. Give up too much and you might be in the same bind.

Counterpoint: Panthers are in no place to mortgage their future on Deshaun Watson

And yes, Brady was a free agent. Tampa Bay gave up nothing but money.