Deshaun Watson's lawyer: 'We are unable to respond to the new lawsuit at this time'

The legal team for Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson has repeatedly maintained that Watson broke no laws pertaining to what were, as of early Monday morning, 23 active civil lawsuits the 26-year-old was facing regarding allegations of sexual misconduct during massage sessions. 

Watson's situation changed at the start of the midweek, though, when a 24th lawsuit was officially filed (Warning: Accusations mentioned in the lawsuit contain graphic details about alleged sexual misconduct). Rusty Hardin, one of the attorneys representing Watson, released an interesting statement on the matter late Monday afternoon. 

"We are unable to respond to the new lawsuit at this time," Hardin explained, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. "Our legal team has not had time to investigate this new filing and had not heard her name until today. Deshaun continues to deny he did anything inappropriate with any of the plaintiffs." 

Florio notes that the statement suggests the 24th plaintiff never filed a criminal complaint against Watson if the legal team didn't know about these new accusations before today. If that's the case, the individual could do so at some point down the road. 

Two grand juries declined to indict Watson, but the NFL could suspend him for at least some part of the 2022 season if it determines he violated the league's code of conduct policy. Jacoby Brissett is Cleveland's QB2 as the club continues to try to trade Baker Mayfield before training camps open and is on track to start if Watson becomes ineligible to play.