Texans' Deshaun Watson fails to have testifying in civil cases delayed

Houston Texans star quarterback Deshaun Watson didn't play a down during the 2021 NFL campaign following his offseason trade request and while facing 22 lawsuits alleging acts of sexual assault and misconduct and 10 criminal complaints. 

It's widely assumed no team will trade assets for Watson before his legal issues are, at the very least, resolved. As Mike Florio explained for Pro Football Talk, the 26-year-old received some bad news on Monday. 

Attorney Tony Buzbee, representing the women suing Watson, wanted the quarterback's deposition for the civil cases to begin even though the criminal investigation hasn't concluded. Rusty Hardin, Watson's lawyer, said a grand jury should be finished with its work by or on April 1 and, thus, wanted to delay things until then. 

A judge ruled Watson will testify after April 1 only for plaintiffs who have filed criminal complaints but will testify for the other plaintiffs when Hardin, who is involved with a trial regarding a different matter, is available. According to Florio, anything Watson says while testifying in the civil cases can be used against him for the criminal case. 

Through his attorney, Watson has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing but, per Florio, could look to settle the civil cases that don’t include criminal complaints at any point moving forward. It remains unclear if the NFL will make Watson unavailable for some portion of the 2022 season via a suspension or the commissioner's exempt list.