According to sources confirmed by ESPN, embattled Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is planning to report to the Texans training camp on Sunday.
If Watson had chosen not to report, he would have forfeited $50,000 for every day missed, which would have amounted to over $3.5M. According to the new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) teams can no longer forgive fines. A source close to the situation told ESPN’s Ed Werder that Watson’s sole purpose of coming to camp was to avoid getting fined and his wish to be traded still stands.
NFL Network first reported Watson’s play to attend camp. This comes after an offseason where he first demanded to be traded in January after the Texans hired Nick Caserio from the New England Patriots as general manager.
Less than sixty day later, one of twenty three charges was leveled against Watson. There are twenty active lawsuits which allege sexual assault and inappropriate behavior against Watson.
The Texans new head coach David Culley has mostly avoided commenting about Watson’s legal troubles. There was a letter sent to season-ticket holders in April that stated, “We want to assure you that we take these allegations very seriously.”
Watson played for the Clemson Tigers from 2014-2017. He led them to a national championship win in 2016 over Alabama. Watson was selected 12th overall in the first-round of the 2017 NFL draft by the Texans.
The Texans have three other quarterbacks on their team, Tyrod Taylor, Davis Mills who just got drafted and Jeff Driskel. Will one of these players have to take the place of Watson this season?
