Deshaun Watson will report to training camp. As Ian Rapoport of NFL.com observes, Texans quarterbacks are reporting to the team today, and Watson will be with his fellow signal-callers (Twitter link).
Watson, of course, is embroiled in civil litigation thanks to the sexual misconduct and sexual assault lawsuits that 22 different women have filed against him, but it’s presently unclear if Watson and the plaintiffs are close to a settlement. And, as Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network tweets, no criminal charges are imminent either. So even though there was a belief that the NFL would step in and park Watson on the Commissioner’s Exempt list if and when he reported to camp, Garafolo believes the league will simply monitor the situation for now.
Another veteran NFL reporter, Josina Anderson, has the same understanding. Anderson’s sources say the league will wait for official findings from Texas authorities before taking any action of its own (Twitter link).
Despite the maelstrom of controversy surrounding him, Watson remains adamant that he wants out of Houston (though as ESPN’s Ed Werder tweets, no rival clubs have asked Watson to waive his no-trade clause as of yet). However, since holding out of training camp would subject him to unwaivable $50K daily fines, it was expected that the three-time Pro Bowler would show up as required.
This is a unique and complicated situation for rookie head coach David Culley and rookie GM Nick Caserio. Having commissioner Roger Goodell step in and declare Watson temporarily ineligible would help to bring a little normalcy to training camp, but it doesn’t sound as if that will be happening (at least not before practices begin). So Culley will be tasked with handling the Watson matter while also trying to get free agent acquisition Tyrod Taylor and top draft choice Davis Mills ready to go for the start of the season.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com hears that the Texans have moved on from Watson and are prepared to go forward with Taylor and Mills, unless Watson’s presence at the team facilities somehow leads to a reconciliation (Twitter link).
cant believe this league. no one wants him to be there and he probably doesnt either but he has to show up anyway. so important that they guy who isnt going to play is at cam anyway…
I’d show up to rather than paying $50k a day in fines.
He needs to save those $$$ to pay off those he assaulted.
You being polish does not surprise me.
Watson must be aware he will be a huge distraction – all the more reason for him to be there in his eyes And not be fined as well
Good! Maybe being a distraction will finally get the Texans to trade him.
Which team would want to trade him while his legal mess may take another year to settle then league punishment from shield pending after that?
There’s little incentive for the Texans to trade him now, and little incentive for someone to trade for him. Assuming the Texans could trade him to someone, the only way to maximize his value would be under the assumption that he would be playing this season. Trading him before the season makes any draft compensation much less valuable, since he would almost certainly cause his new team to have a much, much better season, lowering their draft pick. And anyone trading for him now would have to take on the risk of his legal issues, which are very far from being resolved.
To the Harris County jail
There is no criminal charges pending, and likely end up being dismissed for lack of evidence. This is a civil matter
I bet that either the Fins or Eagles get him when he becomes available.
Watson would be perfect on the Dolphins. The team is ready to win and just need a great QB like Watson to complete the team.
I don’t agree. I’m a dolphins fan and I believe his cap charge would crush us. Plus we would have to give up our draft capital
I wonder how many times he reports to the trainers for a massage?
Just going through the motions until he’s on the commissioner’s list
Are you still paid if you are on the exempt list ?
That’s how I am viewing this. And yes, you do get paid. Full salary.
Good news for Trevor Bauer.
Money gets you in trouble, money gets you out of trouble
Special Treatment Sux!
The Texans should just have him stay away while all of this gets worked out. They’d be better off doing that and waiving the daily fines than dealing with the distractions of his trade request and legal issues.
Get Tyrod and Davis Mills ready for the season and if Watson gets everything worked out and wants to stay with the Texans, that’s a bonus and they could take it from there.
The league no longer allows teams to forgive these fines. So they either use, release, or trade him.
Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Good call.
He’ll show up … then “pull a hammy”
How else will he afford his legal fees and massages
Disgusting
Texans wanted to keep him, So Texans lighted the fire. Now they got him right where they want him.
And he started all this nonsense, publicly whining about not having a say in the organization’s hires. He worked his way out of town with that BS and then drove his value in to the ground with his off the field actions. He made his bed…
This would be a really dumb unforced error on the NFL’s part.
Watson at training camp be like
link to c.tenor.com
We talkin bout practice!
The NFL has suspended players for much less. You have to think they are somehow punishing the Texans by making them pay this loser. They should put him on the field and let him get hurt – that way EVERYBODY loses in this farce.
WATSON continues to seek new HOLMES !!
This guy is just clueless. He’s still demanding a trade? Apparently he doesn’t get it that he has ZERO trade value at the moment and the Texans have ZERO reason to trade him since they couldn’t get anything for him anyways. The damage is already done…it wont hurt the Texans any more to keep him and it won’t benefit them at all to trade him. Deshaun doesn’t understand.
Can you imagine the riots from Women’s rights groups if any city did trade for him? No team wants to deal with the kind of distraction his arrival would cause
Unless there’s video evidence, it’s very possible a team will take a chance on Watson – at the right price.
There must be dozens of athletes across several sports who have done worse, and their team/organization weathered the PR storm. The NFL as a whole seems to manage these “crises” well (over time).
Besides, Watson is still young and too big of a star … The NFL is football but, even more, its entertainment. I bet someone out there is already outlining his downfall/redemption story.
Ray Lewis killed a man.
Ethics vary across different sports.
Trevor Bauer vs. DeShaun Watson vs. the kid Montreal drafted who took a picture and showed it to people generate some varied responses, to put it mildly.
I’ve never seen anyone ask a dollar bill to explain it’s ethics.