Deshaun Watson was like a “deer in headlights” in the season opener game against the Dallas Cowboys. The Browns’ 33-17 defeat posed a lot of questions about their quarterback’s future with the team. While Watson put up decent numbers, he took 6 monumental sacks from 4 different Cowboys’ players. Alas, his comeback had been a disappointing one.

“Hell no!” is what Watson said when the media asked him whether the game had broken his confidence. Well, it’s just been a single regular season game, so it’s too early to make anything of his performance. Moreover, the recent s–ual a–ault charges on Watson have made the situation even worse, to the point where the Browns might even consider releasing him.

Taking into account the state of the Cleveland team, Mark Schlereth gave his two cents on their QB situation. Schlereth was praising Dak Prescott and Micah Parsons for their stellar performance and even called Micah Parsons a “one man wrecking crew” and segued his way to talk about Deshaun Watson, who completed 24 of his 45 passes against the Cowboys and threw two picks and a touchdown over 169 yards.

“It’s an impressive performance [from Dak and Micah] and Micah Parsons is a one-man wrecking crew, he was great. And speaking of one-man wrecking crews, Deshaun Watson….” Schlereth said on The Stinkin’ Truth Podcast with Mark Schlereth. “Do you see the cap? Next year, his dead cap money, like, a $172 million. Like, do you have to sign him to an extension [5 years], just to spread out the money to cut him? Like that dude is DONE.”

The former Broncos’ lineman then proceeded to talk about the recent lawsuit that Watson has found himself in. This will be his 25 lawsuit and differs from the past ones in the sense that it’s a “s–ual a–ault” lawsuit and not a “s–ual misconduct” one. In the past 3 years, Watson has played just 13 games. He missed the majority of 2022 season (11 games) because of the lawsuit and the 2023 season (missed 11 games) due to a season ending shoulder injury.

Playing quarterback is a tough enough job as it is. Hence, what Watson has been going through might have debilitated his mental health, though he denied it in the post game presser. Schlereth further points out the “alarming” number of “errant throws” that Watson made throughout the game and gave an honest take and, taking into account his current situation, pointed out that the QB has “no conscience.”

So, what is the current development on the Watson story?

Deshaun Watson continues to be a trouble for the Cleveland Browns

Watson settled 23 of 24 lawsuits filed against him in the summer of 2022. However, this new case specifically accuses Watson of “s–ual a–ault” and “ba–ery.” The accuser Jane Doe in this case has sought council from the same attorney, Tony Buzbee, who handled the majority of the other victims from the 2022 cases. But as pointed out earlier, this new civil lawsuit is a bit different.

“Watson was accused of s–ual a–ault and ba–ery and intentional infliction of emotional distress in a new civil lawsuit that was filed in Houston on Monday,” as iterated by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. The story has a strong gruesome theme, so we implore you to read the legal transcript. The victim has asked for $1m in damages for the incident that occurred on October 10, 2020.

The NFL has launched a review of the allegation and Brian McCarthy, an NFL spokesperson, issued a statement on Tuesday saying, “We are reviewing the complaint and we will look into the matter under the personal conduct policy.” He further added, “Not looking at commissioner’s exempt list, as there’s been no formal charges and the league’s review has just begun.”

Per the NY Times, Lisa Friel from the NFL special counsel is overseeing the investigation and is responsible for the final verdict from the NFL. The Browns are looking at $172 million in a dead cap in 2025 if they decide to forfeit Watson and the dead cap will come down to $99.8 million in the 2026 season. For now, the Browns are stuck with their QB.

The Cleveland Browns fully intend to cooperate with the NFL’s protocols on the matter. Also, there’s no development on any further action taken against the QB as he’s currently an “Active” player in the Browns roster.