DESHAUN’S FUTURE NOW AN UNKNOWN
Watson lawsuits have huge NFL impact
The 16 lawsuits levied against Deshaun Watson have transformed the Houston Texans quarterback’s market value, slamming the brakes on what was about to be a league-changing trade to some other eager franchise.
It’s most important, of course, that the alleged victims of repeated sexual assault and intimidation tactics are real people. If the allegations are true, this 25-year-old star is a predator who deserves to be punished accordingly.
The immediate ramifications in the NFL, though, is the sudden stop to a sweepstakes for one of the league’s top QBs who wanted out of Houston and seemed close to getting his way.
The Jets, Dolphins, Panthers,
Broncos and
Niners all were contenders for Watson, 25, based either on their assets available, their dire need at QB, their actions this offseason, Watson’s desire to play there (he has a no-trade clause), or all of the above.
Carolina specifically was emerging as a real and aggressive bidder — and deferring costs in other contracts seemingly clearing the way for a huge addition — just around when the first lawsuit was filed on March 16.
Now Watson is accused of gross and criminal behavior, “a disturbing pattern of preying on vulnerable women,” as one complaint reads. He is under threat of severe penalty from both the league (suspension) and the Texans (financial), regardless of the outcome of these legal proceedings.
And in the immediate future, Watson is no longer the white knight trapped by a dysfunctional franchise, threatening to hold out from the game he loves.
He is now an unknown. And once the NFL Draft concludes in early May, the capital required for one of these teams to make a deal in the near future evaporates.
Unless Watson is able to clear his name by the draft’s first round on April 29, he will not be able to successfully orchestrate a trade — though of course, that would be the least of his problems.
Friday’s trades showed some of these teams already have moved on from Watson, with the 49ers charging up to the No. 3 pick to draft a QB and the Dolphins moving out of that spot, a pick Miami would have included in any package for Watson.
The biggest concern in this Deshaun Watson story are the accusations of forced oral sex in multiple lawsuits, inappropriate touching and intimidation, and the alleged victims.
For his part, Watson’s marketing manager Bryan Burney recently declared that one of the plaintiffs allegedly tried to blackmail Watson, demanding $30,000 for her ‘indefinite silence’ for an encounter she acknowledged was consensual.
However Tony Buzbee, who represents the plaintiffs, posted on Instagram what he said was a text message from Watson to one of the women apologizing for making her feel “uncomfortable.”
There is certainly some sentiment in the industry that the timing of the allegations is suspicious.
The Texans organization has been vilified in recent months due to numerous leaks about the franchise’s mismanagement and decline, simultaneous to Watson trying to force his way out.
And now suddenly Watson’s character is being torn down publicly, brick by brick, with new lawsuits being added to the total on an almost daily basis. The city of Houston is spinning in an attempt to process these allegations against a player that the fan base largely was supporting at all costs in his fight with the team.
Of course, the alleged victims are the most important people here. As Watson’s attorney Rusty Hardin said: “We and Deshaun recognize that sexual assault and harassment are not only unlawful, but morally wrong.”
Hardin also has said, however, that he believes “any allegation that Deshaun forced a woman to commit a sexual act is completely false.” And Watson emphatically said in a statement that “I have never treated any woman with anything than the utmost respect.”
The truth will come to light sooner or rather, but it’s possible irreparable damage has been done to Watson’s career one way or another.
BRING ON 17 GAMES
The NFL’s owners are expected to vote to expand the regular season from 16 games to 17 in this week’s virtual owners’ meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday. The change would go into effect immediately this fall and would reduce the preseason from four games to three. That would mean an 18-week season for each team: 17 games and the one bye.
In the immediate future, the NFL players’ association also has been negotiating with the league’s management council on whether OTAs will occur in person or continue virtually. This must be decided immediately because teams with new head coaches like the Jets open their spring practices on April 5. The rest of the league, the Giants included, can begin on April 19.
The union is working to ensure that if a 17-game season is ratified, players’ offseason workloads are adjusted accordingly to account for the additional wear and tear. And if teams insist on in-person OTAs, the union is pushing for continued daily COVID-19 testing.
THE BUC STOPS HERE
The biggest story of free agency might be that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers kept their reigning Super Bowl championship roster largely intact. GM Jason Licht extended Tom Brady and used various mechanisms to retain free agents WR Chris Godwin (franchise tag), edge Shaq Barrett (long-term deal), tight end Rob Gronkowski, running back Leonard Fournette, linebacker Lavonte David, defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh and Rakeem Nunez-Roches and kicker Ryan
Succop, among others.
The Bucs will now become the first team in the salary cap era (since 1994) to bring back all 22 starters from their Super Bowl victory, per Elias Sports Bureau.
The only unsigned free agents who played 30% or more of snaps last season are defensive tackle Steve McLendon and wideout Antonio Brown. Head coach Bruce Arians promised at the Bucs’ Super Bowl parade that “we’re going to keep this band together.” He meant it.
BAD BULLDOGS
DeAndre Baker and Isaiah Wilson are the two biggest first-round busts of the last two NFL Drafts. Both are related to significant offfield issues. Both players played their college ball at Georgia.
The Titans initially were going to outright release Wilson, their 29th overall pick in the 2020 draft. They ended up trading the offensive tackle to the Miami Dolphins in a swap of seventh-round picks.
The Dolphins’ trade for Wilson and his baggage made little sense, except Wilson played at Brooklyn’s Poly Prep, the alma mater of head coach Brian Flores and assistant Lance Bennett. They knew the person, not just the player, and they wanted to help Wilson get back on
track.
Miami went as far as creating a support plan specifically tailored to Wilson, but it didn’t help. WIlson showed up late for a physical and orientation, and he skipped two optional workouts that he committed to attend, per the Miami Herald. The Dolphins cut him three days later.
That end result sadly was inevitable. Wilson had been reckless and pushed football to the bottom of his priority list throughout his lone year with the Titans, sources say.
In fact, just this January, Wilson was arrested at gunpoint in Georgia after he wrecked his car at the end of a high-speed chase with police that uncovered acid, marijuana and paraphernalia, per the Tennessean.
What makes the least sense in all of this is how the Titans missed this badly on Wilson, whose lack of commitment to the game has never been a secret. Consider this: the Dolphins needed an offensive tackle last year, held the No. 18 pick, had more information on Wilson than anybody and drafted USC’s Austin Jackson.
One year after the Giants’ trade up to take Baker at No. 31 in 2019 flamed out in magnificent proportion, these are certainly disturbing developments for Kirby Smart’s program.