"The Houston Texans enabled Deshaun Watson" - Tony Buzbee issues damning statement against NFL franchise for supporting Deshaun Watson

Deshaun Watson may appear to have survived the worst of the two dozen lawsuits brought against him. However, the plaintiffs' lawyer is now going after other targets in the search for justice. According to Jake Trotter on Twitter, Tony Buzbee has now filed a lawsuit against the Houston Texans for their part in enabling their quarterback's behavior.

The Texans are thought to have either known or should have known about their former quarterback's behavior. As such, they are seen as culpably accountable and are being drawn into the maelstrom.

Here's how Buzbee described it:

"Today we filed the first case of will likely be many against the Houston Texans related to Deshaun Watson's behavior. Suffice it to say, the overwhelming evidence collected indicating that the Houston Texans enabled Watson's behavior is incredibly damning."

He continued, saying the franchise turned a blind eye to their quarterback's actions.

"We believe the Texans knew or most certainly should have known of Watson's conduct. Beyond that, we believe the filing speaks for itself."

Put simply, this will be the first of several lawsuits involving the Houston Texans. With the quarterback now done with 20 of the 24 civil lawsuits, opposing lawyer Buzbee is now free to pursue other targets. In other words, the fallout from the quarterback's actions is widespread and far from over.

Cleveland Browns Introduce Quarterback Deshaun Watson

Deshaun Watson's NFL career

In his first three years, the quarterback was one of the most up-and-coming names in the NFL. Every season, he was either getting better or Houston were improving. People even had the Texans as a dark horse for the Super Bowl.

In his rookie season, he threw for 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions. In 2018, he jumped to 26 touchdowns and nine interceptions. The Texans qualified for the playoffs, but lost in their opening game. In 2019, the quarterback essentially treaded water in terms of production, but they won a playoff game.

For many, the trade-off was worth it. That said, the 2020 season's trade-off left many fans frustrated, and it was only the beginning of the quarterback's troubles. In that campaign, he threw for a career-high 70.2 completion percentage, 33 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. However, the Texans went 4-12.

Soon after the season, the first of what would become 24 accusations of sexual misconduct came to light. The accusations put the quarterback in criminal and civil court.

The accusations played a role in Watson missing the entire 2021 season. Early in 2022, however, he escaped the criminal courts unscathed, leaving 24 civil lawsuits to deal with.

Eventually, he was able to settle 20 of the 24 cases, leaving just four cases to deal with. He is also under an NFL investigation and is rumored to be suspended for multiple games.

The expectation is for him to miss a significant number of games this season, as the NFL will likely find that he has violated their personal conduct policy. The minimum number of games for such a breach is traditionally four. However, due to the magnitude of the situation, it could end up being the whole season.

After sitting out the entirety of the 2021 season, a lengthy suspension will result in a lot of question marks over his ability to play. It will be almost a new player taking the field for the Browns when that eventuality comes to pass.

For now, the question remains as to when he will return to the field.

If you use any of the above quotes, please credit Jake Trotter and H/T Sportskeeda.