The criminal inquiry into the accusations of sexual assault and misconduct that Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is facing is reportedly unlikely to be finished before the NFL’s trade deadline on Nov. 2, per A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports.
It appears that the league is unlikely to finish its investigation and institute any punishment until the grand jury makes a decision. “The outcome of the criminal investigation will weigh heavily on the NFL’s decision on whether to punish Watson,” Perez wrote.
Perez adds that “there’s still a chance” that Watson could be traded without a grand jury decision. Most teams want to wait for the criminal case to conclude, and at least one team, per Perez, is open to trading for Watson before then.
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Watson is facing 22 lawsuits that “accuse him of a range of actions during massage appointments over the past year, from refusing to cover his genitals to forced oral sex,” per ESPN.
As of right now, everyone will have the wait-and-see approach to when Watson will be available and if the league will want to hand down any suspension his way.