How is Deshaun Watson connected to the NFL sanctioning the Houston Texans?
Though he’s no longer on their roster, the under-fire quarterback is still having a negative effect on the Texans, which begs the question ‘was he worth all the trouble?’
As details about their dealings with their former quarterback come to light, it’s becoming clearer that the franchise not only broke the league’s rules, but essentially facilitated the star signal caller’s terrible actions against several women.
The Texans lose their Draft pick on account of Deshaun Watson
According to reports, the Houston Texans are now set to forfeit a 2023 fifth-round Draft pick after the NFL announced the franchise had committed a salary cap violation. Indeed, the league indicated that the franchise provided former quarterback, Deshaun Watson, with undisclosed compensation in the form of membership at an alternative athletic facility back in 2020. To that end, the Texans will now lose their 2023 fifth-round pick, while also being fined to the tune of $175,000 by the NFL.
It is understood that the “undisclosed compensation” mentioned above was actually $26,000, and the “alternative athletic facility” was in fact the Houstonian - a luxury hotel and club, which they helped Watson to acquire membership for. If that sounds familiar, it’s because the establishment was at the center of allegations brought against Watson last summer. At the time, reports revealed that Watson used the hotel to host women who he had made massage appointments with. Later, several of those women accused Watson of inappropriate sexual conduct and assault.
Were the Texans aware of Deshaun Watson’s actions?
To be clear, Watson acknowledged during deposition that the Texans did arrange for him to have “a place” at the Houstonian. Further details indicated that at least seven different women met Watson at the hotel for their scheduled appointments. Two of the women filed civil suits, while two others made complaints to the police. This is all to say, that the Texans themselves were not aware of the massage appointments, or how they ended up. As you know, the investigation into the 25 separate civil suits brought against Watson continues. For his part, the Browns QB served an 11-game suspension last season in addition to a hefty fine.
What happens to the Texans now?
While the loss of their fifth-round pick is not ideal, the Texans still have 10 picks in the 2023 draft. Given their record last season - it wasn’t good - Houston has two first-round picks (No. 2 and No. 12 overall), one second-round pick (No. 33 overall), two third-round picks (No. 65 and No. 73 overall), one fourth-round pick and four sixth-round picks. Not so bad after all, but the question still remains, was Watson worth all the trouble?