There could be some clarity coming soon on the serious legal issues facing Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, according to the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport.
The two reported on NFL.com on Sunday that “the Houston prosecutor handling 10 criminal complaints filed against Watson is expected to make clear her stance on any potential charges sometime in the next several weeks and turn over the case to a grand jury.”
In addition to the criminal complaints, there have been 22 civil lawsuits filed against Watson that include allegations of sexual assault during massage sessions. The women who have filed those suits are in the process of giving their deposition. Watson’s deposition can be taken as early as late February and Tony Buzbee, who represents the women, has said he intends to use his “full forty-plus hours” to question Watson, according to League of Justice’s Amy Dash.
Tony Buzbee told Fox 26’s Mark Berman in November that Watson and his representatives tried to get all 22 women to agree to a settlement before the NFL’s Nov. 3 trade deadline, but Buzbee said the sticking spot on any settlelment talk was a non-disclosure agreement that some of the women didn’t want to sign.
Pro Football Talk has reported that 18 of the 22 women suing Watson were prepared to settle their cases in October.
The NFL also has an open investigation into Watson’s actions and could suspend him no matter the outcome of his legal cases or civil suits.
The Texans attempted to deal Watson at the trade deadline, but were adamant about teams meeting their demand of three first-round picks and some combination of three second-round picks or young players who could make an impact for years to come. There were teams willing to meet those demands, but only if there was some sort of clarity regarding Watson’s legal issues.
At least some of that clarity may be coming soon.
– Deshaun Watson, Texans getting clarity on legal issues soon, according to report
– What the Deshaun Watson trade market looks like as the season wraps up
– Deshaun Watson makes rare public appearance at girlfriend’s birthday party
– What the Texans were offered for Deshaun Watson at the trade deadline
– Deshaun Watson is posting cryptic quotes on social media again
– Graphic details from lawsuits filed against Deshaun Watson
Matt Young has been a sports web editor/writer at Chron since 2015. He’s proudly from Alief and occasionally sits alone in his four-cornered room staring at candles. Reach him at matt.young@chron.com.
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