May 16: ESPN obtained text messages and a recording which show a member of Buzbee’s team approaching a member of Watson’s team to discuss “working things out,” as Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com writes. Buzbee, for his part, has said that he is the only person at his firm that has the authority to discuss a settlement.

May 14: Earlier this week, the lawyer representing 22 women suing Deshaun Watson criticized the NFL’s conduct during interviews with some of his clients. As a result, Tony Buzbee says he might advise against more of his clients to avoid speaking with the league. Meanwhile, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy says league has handled the investigation appropriately.

“The allegations are very concerning and the league immediately began investigating the matter under the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy,” McCarthy said (Twitter link via Mark Berman of FOX26). “The investigation includes gathering information, monitoring law enforcement developments and conducting interviews with relevant people willing to participate with counsel present.”

McCarthy also went to bat for investigation lead Lisa Friel.

“Throughout her decades-long career as the chief of the sex crimes unit in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and most recently as the NFL’s special counsel for investigations for the last six years, Lisa has earned a stellar reputation as a consummate professional who conducts investigations and interviews with compassion and fairness in an effort to determine the truth,” said McCarthy.

Meanwhile, Buzbee and Watson attorney Rusty Hardin continue to exchange comments through the media. Recently, Hardin claimed that Buzbee approached him about a settlement, though the Texans QB won’t consider it unless “the terms are made public and all participants are allowed to speak in their own defense at all times,” (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). In response, Buzbee took to Instagram and denied ever seeking a settlement.

Settlement or no settlement, Watson’s availability for the coming season probably won’t be clarified for some time.

Tony Buzbee, the attorney representing 22 women suing Deshaun Watson, says four of his clients have met with NFL lead investigator Lisa Friel (Twitter link via Mark Berman of FOX26). Meanwhile, “eight to ten of his clients” have met with the Houston Police Department. 

[RELATED: Pats, Bears, Washington, Dolphins Pursued Watson]

Furthermore, Buzbee says four additional clients may want to speak with the league, but he may advise them against it (“Some of the women did not feel like they were being respected by the NFL,” Buzbee explained.) And, across the board, Buzbee insists that his clients will not agree to a settlement with the Texans quarterback.

Before the accusations came to light, Watson was pushing the Texans front office to trade him. The Patriots, Bears, Dolphins and the Washington Football Team all expressed interest in the three-time Pro Bowler, but later backed out. It’s unlikely that trade talks will resume until there’s some clarity on Watson’s off-the-field situation and his on-the-field availability.

Meanwhile, Watson’s attorney Rusty Hardin says that the lawsuits are a “money grab.”

“It was not until the plaintiffs saw an opportunity for a money grab that they changed their stories to convert therapy sessions they bragged about to friends and family to something much more nefarious,” Hardin wrote in April.

On Monday, Deshaun Watson‘s legal team filed a written response to the lawsuits against him (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The lengthy document denies all allegations of sexual misconduct.

[RELATED: Texans Submit Offer To Nick Easton]

More than 20 women have filed civil lawsuits against Watson in recent weeks. Meanwhile, some of those women have contacted the authorities, raising the possibility of criminal charges. In his response, lawyer Rusty Hardin said that he wants a jury trial in order to give Watson a chance to clear his name.

Furthermore, Hardin claims that eight of the plaintiffs bragged about working with Watson while seven of the accusers “willingly worked” or “offered” to work with him after “their alleged incidents”. He also claims that some of the accusers “lied” about the number of times they worked with Watson and told others that they wanted to get money out of the NFL star.

“It was not until the plaintiffs saw an opportunity for a money grab that they changed their stories to convert therapy sessions they bragged about to friends and family to something much more nefarious,” Hardin wrote.

Meanwhile, Watson’s football future remains in flux. Last week, Texans GM Nick Caserio declined to comment on Watson’s status with the team.

“If you want to speculate, you should probably go buy Bitcoin,” Caserio said.

One of the civil suits against Watson was dropped earlier this month. However, another plaintiff came forward a few days later to bring the total count back to 22.

One of the civil suits against Texans QB Deshaun Watson has been dismissed, but as Samantha Ketterer of the Houston Chronicle writes, another lawsuit has been filed, which returns the total to 22. The newest accuser is a makeup artist who alleges, among other things, that at various points during two massage sessions, Watson asked her to put her hand on his penis and tried to kiss and grope her.

She also avers that Watson contacted her via social media to request a massage, at which point she made it clear that she was not a licensed massage therapist. Like all of the other plaintiffs, she is represented by Tony Buzbee.

Even more problematic for Watson is the fact that five of Buzbee’s clients have now spoken to police, as Will Hobson of the Washington Post reports. We had previously heard that Ashley Solis — the first accuser to publicly identify herself — had contacted the Houston Police Department, which opened a criminal investigation earlier this month.

Hobson provides a comprehensive look at how this matter has unfolded, including Buzbee’s initial communication with Watson’s management at Athletes First. Buzbee claims that Scott Gaffield, general counsel for Athletes First, did not take the accusations seriously, and while Gaffield was willing to discuss a “reasonable” settlement for Solis — i.e. less than the $100K that Buzbee had offered on Solis’ behalf — he was doing so just so that Watson “can learn a lesson about having put himself in this situation.” Gaffield declined to comment for Hobson’s story, instead referring a reporter to an earlier statement in which he expressed his belief that Watson did not engage in any wrongdoing.

Buzbee, both in his interview with Hobson and on Instagram, fired back at statements from Rusty Hardin, Watson’s attorney, which indicated that any sexual interactions between Watson and Buzbee’s clients were consensual. Hardin had suggested that Watson turned to social media to arrange for massages due to the pandemic, to which Buzbee replied, “Because of COVID, he was reaching out to dozens of different people on Instagram? For massages? … Because of COVID, you would think he would have one person who had tested negative.”

Meanwhile, Hardin — who has accused Buzbee of taking part in a “new kind of extortion using social media and salacious innuendo” — did not speak with the Washington Post for very long, saying that he believes it would be better to address the inaccuracies of Buzbee’s claims in the series of pleadings he plans to file next week as opposed to a newspaper article.

One of the lawsuits against Deshaun Watson has been dismissed, according to attorney Rusty Hardin (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). Of course, this was just one of 22 civil lawsuits that have been filed against the Texans quarterback, so he still has a long road ahead.

[RELATED: Texans Distancing From Deshaun Watson?]

Earlier this month, a judge ruled that more than half of Watson’s accusers would have to reveal their identities. Meanwhile, the lawyer for the opposing side said that all of the plaintiffs would do so.

“We believe we have names for 20 of the 22 lawsuits. We’ve got one dismissed and we’re looking for one [name],” Hardin said.

Hardin’s comments didn’t specify whether the dismissed case was settled, or if the accuser dropped the suit for other reasons. The plaintiff has since reached out to Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com (on Twitter), explaining that she has dropped her lawsuit “for now” “in light of privacy and security concerns.

“[The] plaintiff reserves the right to refile this case once such concerns are addressed,” the court document reads.

Watson is still facing 21 civil suits and the potential for criminal charges after one accuser — Ashley Solis — contacted Houston police. Hardin says that Solis, the first accuser to publicly identify herself, sought a $100K settlement before she filed suit.

Deshaun Watson has been removed from the intro video to the team’s online TV show (Twitter link via Rivers McCown of The Athletic). Though it may seem trivial, it’s another indication that the Texans are preparing for a future without the embattled quarterback.

[RELATED: Deshaun Watson Accusers To Be Identified]

At last check, 22 lawsuits have been filed against Watson this offseason. In addition to the civil cases, Watson will also face an investigation from the league office. Criminal charges could also be in play now that authorities have been contacted by some of the accusers. The allegations from massage therapists range from sexual misconduct to assault.

The Texans spent the early part of the year trying to convince Watson to stay, rather than demand a trade out of Houston. Now, things are far more complicated. The Panthers were said to be Watson’s most fervent suitor — last week, they acquired Sam Darnold from the Jets, taking them out of the running. From a football perspective, plenty of teams would want Watson, but the ongoing situation means that he’s probably untradeable.

As the lawsuits and investigations continue to play out, it seems increasingly likely that Watson will wind up on the Commissioner’s Exempt list, which would bar him from taking the field while still collecting his salary.

Watson, 26 in September, led the league with 4,823 passing yards in 2020 — a new career-high. He also set new personal bests with 33 passing touchdowns and a 70.2% completion rate.

Friday brought more clarity on the Deshaun Watson case. The accusers who have alleged the Texans quarterback committed sexual assault and/or sexual misconduct will be identified.

Going into Friday, two of Watson’s 22 accusers had identified themselves. As of Friday morning, nine of the accusers were willing to reveal their identities. Houston courts ruled Watson’s accusers must identify themselves to proceed with civil cases, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes. By Friday’s end, at least 14 of the accusers will be revealed, Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com reports. The attorney representing the accusers, Tony Buzbee, said after Friday’s hearing all of his clients who have accused Watson are prepared to be identified.

Additionally, Watson attorney Rusty Hardin said Friday sexual encounters did take place between his client and some of the massage therapists accusing him of sexual assault and misconduct, per Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com. Hardin, however, contends all of those encounters were consensual. He declined to specify how many masseuses with whom Watson engaged in sexual acts.

The 22 accusers’ suits will also be consolidated into one, according to Rapoport (video link). This only applies to the civil suits Watson is facing. The Houston Police Department began an investigation into Watson last week, which will be separate from the civil process. The NFL is investigating Watson as well.