"He is losing" - Mike Florio claims Deshaun Watson is in danger of being punished

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Indianapolis Colts v Houston Texans

Deshaun Watson has been in trouble since the 2020 NFL season came to a close. Despite surviving the criminal justice system, the quarterback is not out of the woods. He is still dealing with the civil court system as well as the NFL's investigation into what happened.

According to one analyst, the NFL's investigation appears to be going poorly for the quarterback. Speaking on Pro Football Talk, Mike Florio said the quarterback is "losing." Here's how he put it:

"Rusty Hardin, who represents Deshaun Watson, high profile, very famous lawyer. He recently said that he hasn't tried to win in the court of public opinion, because that doesn't matter."

Gary Gramling

@GGramling_SI

Of all the bizarre misinformation surrounding the Deshaun Watson cases, the fact that people still believe that it's a conspiracy engineered by the Houston Texans—a claim thoroughly debunked, 370 days ago, in our reporting—ranks... somewhere in the middle

si.com/nfl/2021/05/21…

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Of all the bizarre misinformation surrounding the Deshaun Watson cases, the fact that people still believe that it's a conspiracy engineered by the Houston Texans—a claim thoroughly debunked, 370 days ago, in our reporting—ranks... somewhere in the middle

si.com/nfl/2021/05/21… https://t.co/gFX131kS8x

Florio went on to counter Hardin's assertion:

"We talked about that. It does matter. Public opinion matters and he is trying to win in the court of public opinion. The problem is he's losing. When you're losing at something, that's when you say you're not trying to win. And he is losing. He is losing in the court of public opinion."

Ian Rapoport

@RapSheet

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell at a press conference is asked for a timeline on the Deshaun Watson investigation. He says the NFL is “nearing the end of the investigation,” but he offers no timeline on the disciplinary officer issuing a ruling.

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NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell at a press conference is asked for a timeline on the Deshaun Watson investigation. He says the NFL is “nearing the end of the investigation,” but he offers no timeline on the disciplinary officer issuing a ruling.

When mentioning "the court of public opinion," Florio is referring to what the general population thinks of the quarterback. With poor public perception, pressure mounts on the NFL to punish Watson more severely. Conversely, with good public perception, the NFL becomes incentivized to be softer on the quarterback when judgement comes around.

Deshaun Watson in recent years

New England Patriots v Houston Texans

Soon after his career began in 2017, Watson quickly became one of the most exciting players to watch. By the end of 2019, the quarterback had thrown for roughly 62 touchdowns and 30 interceptions. He also took the Houston Texans to the playoffs twice, winning one game.

Many looked at the quarterback's career arc favorably, some even thought the Texans were a dark horse to win a Super Bowl. However, 2020 marked the start of a downward trend for the Texans. Though their quarterback put up career-highs with 4,823 passing yards and 33 touchdowns, the Texans went 4-12.

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Most pointed to the issues on the surrounding roster for the poor season, rather than the Texans quarterback. However, the tone quickly shifted early that offseason when the news broke that Watson was being sued for 22 sexual misconduct complaints.

The lawsuit factored into his decision to skip the 2021 season. Once the criminal charges were cleared, the Texans traded the quarterback to the Cleveland Browns.

The outstanding civil case is still pending and the NFL's investigation is nearing its conclusion. We can expect to hear their ruling on Watson's future soon.

If the Browns are to be without their franchise quarterback, it will doubtless be tougher on the field for them. We shall see how the situation unfolds as the 2022 season grows closer.

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