'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Deshaun Watson's civil cases regarding the alleged sexual assaults potentially committed by the former Houston Texans QB will not affect his 2022 NFL season with his new team, the Cleveland Browns.
Watson missed the 2021 season because of those issues, and in that time, the Texans went 4-13. Tyrod Taylor, who is now with the New York Giants, went 2-4, while Houston's projected 2022 starter Davis Mills went 2-9.
The Browns acquired Watson in hopes of improving upon their QB play from a season ago. Their 2018 No. 1 pick, Baker Mayfield, struggled to maintain his play from the 2020 season and failed to lead the Browns to a second straight postseason.
Luckily for the franchise, they'll have their new franchise signal-caller in 2022.
The timeline for Deshaun Watson's trial
Cleveland acquired damaged goods when they landed Deshaun Watson in a massive swap involving three first-round draft picks (2022, 2023, 2024), as well as a 2023 third-rounder and a 2024 fourth-rounder.
As NBC Sports' Mike Florio points out, the case will still be happening. It'll be either before the season or following its conclusion:
Tony Buzbee, who represents the 22 plaintiffs, told the Plain Dealer that he hopes to get a trial set for July. If that isn’t feasible, he hopes to have all 22 cases ready to go in March 2023.
Lingering over the entire controversy is the question of whether the case proceeds with one trial involving all claims or 22 different trials. We’ve previously gotten the sense from talking to persons with knowledge of the litigation that the cases would be tried one at a time. For 22 trials, that could take most if not all of the 2023 offseason, with one case after another after another after another.
According to Florio, settling each case individually should be his goal to make this as easy as a process as possible:
At some point, Watson needs to focus on settling specific cases. A deal could have been had for 18 of the claims last October, with four holdouts. Watson didn’t want to settle some but not all of the claims. Whether he should have felt differently at the time, he should reconsider that position now, settling every case he can in order to whittle the litigation down to as few cases as possible.
As far as Watson's 2022 season, he could, at least, be at peace with knowing the Browns are going to do everything possible to put him in the best position to win on the field.
WR Brandin Cooks, who played with Deshaun Watson in 2020, was reportedly on the Browns' radar. Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com doesn't believe the possibility of a deal is high, though the Texans should consider bringing back Baker Mayfield in a second trade with Cleveland this offseason.
Watson has the chance to return to the postseason with a franchise that has been to it more recently than he has. His drama off the field hasn't gone away, but his issues are being kept at bay long enough for him to have a chance at a legitimate comeback.
