The NFL stands on discipline for Deshaun. There is a time and a place for it. On Tuesday, the commissioner of the National Football League met with reporters in Palm Beach, Florida, and addressed the latest developments regarding quarterback Deshaun Watson. After spending the next five years on the sideline while facing 22 civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault and inappropriate conduct during massage sessions, he will return to the National Football League. Two grand juries in Texas did not indict him on criminal charges. The NFL has to decide what to do next. The personal conduct policy could lead to suspension. Our people are working on it. These are serious charges, so we are looking at them seriously. Civil charges are still going on. Our investigators will hopefully have more access to that information. It will be helpful to get to the conclusion of what the facts are, and if there was a violation of the personal conduct policy. The determination will be made by a joint officer of the two organizations. There is no time frame for that. He said Friday that he is focused on clearing his name. "I never harassed any woman in my life, I never disrespected her, and I never assault her," said the man, who indicated he would continue to fight the lawsuits. When asked if he would consider a settlement, he said it was not his intent. That is what I am focused on. As the lawsuits continue and the NFL continues its investigation, here is what to know about the future of the team. The next step after the discovery phase is a conference, which is scheduled for early May. According to Tony Buzbee, the attorney for the plaintiffs, he has completed six depositions with Watson, including two last week before he flew to Cleveland to hold his introductory news conference. Two depositions are scheduled for Wednesday in Houston, with the final one with him just in general. Two grand juries in Texas declined to indict the man. There are no criminal cases pending. Civil cases were filed in other states, including Arizona, California and Georgia, while criminal cases were closed in Harris County. The first case to be tried would be the one filed by the first person to file a lawsuit. He said it could happen as early as February or March. We have a tight schedule so we can get the case in a posture so that we can try it. Will he be suspended by the NFL, and how long, for? First-time offenders who violate the league's code of conduct policy are subject to a baseline suspension of six games without pay. The baseline figure is a guideline. Depending on the circumstances, a suspension could fall below or above six games. If he is suspended this season, he would lose less than $60,000 per game because of the way his contract is structured. Andrew Berry said that the contract was meant to give the teammaximum flexibility to execute the rest of their plan, despite the fact that it was structured to reduce the financial penalty in case of suspension. JuJu add size to the corps.
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What's next from the NFL?
The league's personal conduct policy indicates that discipline may be a fine, a suspension for a fixed or an indefinite period of time.
He said that Cleveland's record contract offer of $230 million in guaranteed money had nothing to do with his decision to pick the Browns.
Berry said the team used third-party lawyers because they were advised by their legal counsel against contacting the women who filed the lawsuits.
The investigators that we hired were able to get a full perspective of all the cases.
Jimmy and Dee Haslam were not at the news conference because they were not in Houston for the meeting. They had a call with the media later in the day.
The Haslams wouldn't say if anyone from the Browns spoke with the women.
Jimmy Haslam said that they were able to read depositions and do a lot of work.
When asked about the women who had not given their sworn testimony yet, he said he was not aware of how many deposits had been given.
He noted that six of his clients had yet to give their depositions.
I didn't expect them to contact me again, but I would have taken their call.
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More of the women will be interviewed if the investigators from the league are separate from the group hired by the team. The commissioner said that he could be interviewed.
"We will speak to everybody who can give us a perspective and try to get to the bottom line and the facts."
The process for keeping players off the field when they are being investigated for criminal matters will not be used by the commissioner.
If the criminal case had proceeded, it would have triggered a commissioner's exempt list designation.
There may be a violation of the personal conduct policy. That would have likely led to some discipline.
The voluntary workouts are scheduled to begin in Cleveland on April 18.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NFL and the players allowed players from other teams to not attend the voluntary workouts last year due to safety reasons. He said he was expecting a lot of different things.
There is great value in being around your teammates and your coaches, and Deshaun will be a part of that.
The offense would be changing as it transitions from Baker Mayfield to Deshaun Watson.
When it comes to the quarterback position, you have to do what the player does best.
He was one of the top dual-threat passers in the league and went to three straight Pro Bowls before sitting out last season. He threw for 4,823 yards and rushed for 444 more in 2020. In his first four seasons in the NFL, he has 121 combined passing and rushing touchdown, which is the third most by any player.
There are some things that Deshaun has done in his career that we have done in the past.
Cleveland has signed a quarterback to be their backup. On Monday, he acknowledged the possibility of Brissett starting.
We have talked about that, but we need to be ready whenever a decision is made. We will wait and see what the league has.
Domonique Foxworth believes that Baker Mayfield will start for an NFL team in 2022.
Two weeks after the Cleveland team traded for a player, he is still on the roster. But, as expected, he said the Browns are going to part ways with him.
Everyone understands the situation and we hope that it is resolved soon.
It has proved to be problematic. The Cleveland Browns exercised the fifth-year option on Baker Mayfield's contract, guaranteeing his full base salary of $18.858 million in 2022.
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In the league, Mayfield was ranked 27th. He finished 10th in 2020.
It is a unique situation, and we have to see how it plays out. I think all of us would love an answer yesterday, but that is not the reality.
At this point, Cleveland might have to attach a draft asset or eat a significant chunk of the salary of the player to have any hope of getting a trade done.
Berry suggested on Tuesday that the Browns might keep Mayfield for the next season.
Berry told reporters from the league meetings that they feel like they have three good quarterbacks and that a lot of teams are still looking for one. You can't have enough good players on your roster if Baker is a good player. We don't feel pressured to rush into anything.
It is almost impossible to see how the Browns could bring Mayfield back. On March 17, the day before Cleveland landed Watson, he requested a trade. Berry is trying to prop up the value of the trade.
If they can't work out a trade, they might have to negotiate a release with Mayfield, like they did with Beckham last season. He would be free to sign with a team of his choice at a much lower salary.
According to one NFL executive, teams will pounce on him at that point.
Kevin Seifert and Sarah Barshop were contributors.
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