Deshaun Watson now faces 24 civil lawsuits for alleged sexual assault and misconduct committed during massage sessions. The NFL continues to investigate the Cleveland Browns quarterback to determine whether to punish him for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
On The Pat McAfee Show, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said the league is expected to make a ruling sometime before training camp commences in late July.
While he believes Watson will likely face a suspension, the length remains uncertain. Rapoport speculated anywhere from four to 10 games, which he acknowledged is a huge gap for a 17-game season.
Cleveland might want to prepare to not have Watson for the longer side of that guess, which could certainly impact the team’s contention status.
Quite frankly, Watson’s eligibility to play football isn’t the important story here.
Two more women filed suits against Watson following an HBO’s Real Sports piece that detailed the cases against him and interviewed two accusers, Ashley Solis and Kyla Hayes.
Last week, Jenny Vrentas of the New York Times published a report in which multiple women accused him of initiating sexual contact. Not all women who spoke to Vrentas — he made massage appointments with at least 66 different women during a 17-month period with the Houston Texans — have filed a lawsuit.
At this point, some suspension looks like a near certainty.