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Deshaun Watson's presence in Houston Texans training camp remains a weird sight.
The star quarterback, who is in the middle of a hold-in, where he reported for training camp but isn't practicing, has been the main focus in practice, and with good reason. Watson requested a trade from the Texans earlier this offseason and missed most of the offseason workouts, only reporting for camp to avoid being fined $50,000 every day as per the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
There are also dark clouds of legal issues hanging over the quarterback, with more than 20 women stating that they were sexually assaulted by Watson during therapy massage sessions. His quality on the field is undeniable, but these off-field problems are scaring teams from acquiring his services.
Whatever the end to this story may be, Watson still has to deal with the rigors of the job. During Thursday's walk to practice, he appeared visibly upset that the media was giving him so much attention
"Why are you all filming me every day? It's the same s***!"
Perhaps the fact that he has so many sexual assault allegations piling up against him, and he's the team's best player with an active trade request, has something to do with the media coverage. Just speculating.
Watson's trade request
After the 4-12 season in 2020, Watson requested a trade from the franchise. With DeAndre Hopkins traded, Bill O'Brien fired and the nauseous Jack Easterby saga, the quarterback felt it was time for him to move on.
Watson has seen loads of dysfunction on the front office side of things since he was drafted in 2017. Bill O'Brien had a number of problems with Rick Smith, the former general manager, and when O'Brien overtook personnel decisions, he traded Watson's favorite receiver, DeAndre Hopkins, to the Arizona Cardinals for a mere second-round pick.
Watson felt his future would be wasted on a franchise with so many off-field problems, so he made his displeasure clear and requested a trade. However, during the offseason, more than 20 women accused Watson of sexual assault.
Deshaun Watson officially requested a trade from the Texans in March because he did not foresee a winning culture inside the organization.
Watson has not taken any live practice reps during camp because the organization does not want to hurt his trade value with an injury. For now, he's the fourth-string quarterback in Houston.
Watson's laundry list of legal issues
Any team wishing to trade for Watson has to be careful, as the quarterback is in the middle of a list of serious accusations of sexual assault by more than 20 women.
Even if Watson is traded from the Texans, a wish of his own because of the team's uncertain future, there's no guarantee he will be allowed to play in the 2021 season or even beyond, as the accusations are troubling and the cases are far from settled.
