BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Deshaun Watson’s suspension began Tuesday in conjunction with the NFL’s mandatory roster reduction to 53.
Under terms of the suspension, Watson, who has been placed on the reserved/suspended by the commissioner list, will not be permitted to return to the Browns facility until October 10.
“I think he has a really good plan,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said following practice Tuesday afternoon. “Obviously, as you know, we can’t direct it. We can’t follow up with him. It’s no contact until October 10th but I’m confident he has a good plan to do some good work while he is away from the building.”
Stefanski met with Watson before he left the facility as his teammates took the field for practice.
“I think it is a great opportunity for him right now while he is away from this building to go work on football, work on himself and work on a bunch of different things,” Stefanski said.
Watson will serve an 11-game ban following a disciplinary settlement with the NFL in the wake of over two dozen accusations of sexual misconduct from massage therapists from 2020-2021 while a member of the Houston Texans.
Watson, who has denied any wrongdoing throughout the process, has settled 23 of 25 lawsuits filed in civil court with one case still unsettled. Another was dropped by the accuser after a judge ruled that the plaintiffs must use their names in the filings.
The Texans also settled 30 lawsuits alleging the team enabled Watson’s alleged misconduct, but the league has not punished the franchise for any wrongdoing.
When Watson is eligible to return to the Browns facility on a part time basis starting October 10, he will be allowed to attend meetings and work out on his own. Watson may resume practicing with the team on November 14 and is eligible for reinstatement November 28.
The team is prohibited from contact with Watson until he returns to the building in October.
“Those are the rules,” Stefanski said.
Prior to his departure, Watson and the Browns reviewed the plan for him to stay in football shape and be ready to hit the ground running when he returns.
His first game as a Brown is scheduled to be December 4 at Houston against his former team, the Texans, if he meets the agreed to counseling and treatment requirements.
Watson was also fined $5 million. Those funds along with $1 million from the Browns as well as NFL will be distributed to non-profit programs nationwide that support the prevention of sexual misconduct and assault.
The agreement between Watson, the NFLPA and NFL came before Peter C. Harvey ruled on the league’s appeal of a six-game suspension handed down by former federal judge and independent arbiter Sue L. Robinson.
During the disciplinary hearing, the NFL focused on four specific cases and accusations associated with them levied against Watson.
In a 16-page report, Robinson found that the NFL’s circumstantial evidence was enough to meet the required burden of proof that Watson violated the league’s personal conduct policy in three ways – sexual assault as defined by the NFL, endangering another person and compromising the integrity of the league.
Watson apologized to the women impacted by his alleged misconduct during a taped television interview with Aditi Kinkhabwala that aired during the team’s pregame show prior to the preseason opener in Jacksonville on August 12.
In a written statement released through the Browns on August 18 after the settlement was reached, Watson apologized again “for the pain this has caused” but during a press conference that followed reasserted his innocence, stating he never assaulted or disrespected anyone.
