Deshaun Watson denies new allegations; Browns say he’ll play Sunday

A woman in Texas accused Watson of sexual assault and battery in a civil suit filed Monday in Harris County (Tex.) District Court.

“Deshaun strongly denies the allegations in the Jane Doe lawsuit filed Monday,” Watson’s attorney, Rusty Hardin, said in a statement Wednesday. “We have asked him not to comment further while this matter works its way through the courts, but are comfortable he will ultimately be vindicated.”

The lawsuit alleges Watson “roughly sexually assaulted” the woman in October 2020, when he was a member of the Houston Texans, after she invited him to dinner at her apartment.

“We will be ready to defend this case in court at the appropriate time, but don’t intend to conduct our defense in the media,” Hardin said. “We would ask that people be patient while the legal process runs its course. In the meantime, Deshaun is going to focus his energy and concentration on football.”

Watson said later Wednesday during a news conference at the Browns’ training facility in Berea, Ohio: “The statement is the response that we talked about. Everything that he put in that statement is exactly … how I’m feeling and what we’re going through this process with.”

Watson said he had been unaware of the new allegations until learning of them through media reports Monday.

“I found out exactly when everyone else found out,” Watson said.

Stefanski likewise said he “was not aware of the allegations” until they became public. He said the possibility of Watson facing further disciplinary measures by the NFL is “not really a consideration for me,” adding that Watson will play in the Browns’ game Sunday at Jacksonville.

“We’ll let due process play out and follow the NFL’s guidelines,” Stefanski said during a news conference.

The NFL said Tuesday through a spokesman that it will review the latest allegations against Watson but will not put him on paid administrative leave via the commissioner’s exempt list at this point.

Watson served an 11-game suspension and was fined $5 million in 2022 for violating the personal conduct policy, under a settlement reached between the NFL and the NFL Players Association, based on allegations in more than two dozen lawsuits filed by women accusing Watson of sexual misconduct during massage therapy sessions.

He said Wednesday that he hadn’t “had any thought” about further discipline from the league, adding: “That’s something that the NFL has to do on their time. And I have to focus on what’s in front of me right now.”

Watson also has denied the previous allegations. He has not been charged with a crime. He reached settlements with 23 of his accusers and one lawsuit was withdrawn, according to attorney Anthony Buzbee, who represents the women. Buzbee also represents the woman who filed this week’s lawsuit.

Buzbee said in a statement Wednesday that he “reached out to attorney Rusty Hardin’s office for ten months” in an unsuccessful attempt to resolve the case before the lawsuit was filed. Buzbee said Hardin has tried to contact his office since the lawsuit was filed. The NFL also has been in contact, Buzbee said.

“We knew this case was the most serious and egregious case brought against Watson to date and our client, who is rightly traumatized by these events, wanted to attempt a private resolution,” Buzbee said.

Watson is one game into the third season of his five-year contract with the Browns worth a guaranteed $230 million, signed when the team traded for him in March 2022.

“I focus on football,” Watson said. “I focus on keeping the main thing the main thing. And that’s when I walk into this building, focusing on being the best quarterback I can be, on the game plan and trying to be better than we were last week so we can get a [win].”

Watson threw two interceptions as the Browns lost to the Dallas Cowboys, 33-17, in their season opener Sunday in Cleveland.

“You fix the mistakes,” Watson said Wednesday. “You have to, overall. It’s all of us. It’s not just me. It’s not just another player. We’ve all got to be on the same page. [There’s] a lot of self-inflicted penalties and mistakes that we had, just missed communication within the route concepts. … So we’ve just got to get on the same page and just keep working.”

Watson has played just 13 games for the Browns, following the suspension in 2022 and a shoulder injury that required surgery and ended his 2023 season after six games. He rarely has resembled the three-time Pro Bowl selection that he was during his four seasons with the Texans, and he and his Browns teammates are attempting to get in sync on the field following some significant offseason moves.

“You’ve got talent there,” Jaguars Coach Doug Pederson said at a news conference Wednesday. “I think they’re still working through some things, you know, getting on the same page with the quarterback and all that. But, listen, it’s the NFL. And these guys, they can light it up at any time.”

Pederson was asked about the regression in Watson’s play.

“It’s hard for me to speculate, and I don’t want to do that,” he said. “I just know that he’s a good football player. And they went after him and wanted him to be the quarterback there, and he’s still a dangerous guy throwing and running the football.”

The Browns reached the playoffs last season with Joe Flacco, who was named the NFL’s comeback player of the year. They allowed Flacco to leave in free agency in the offseason. One game into this season, the quarterback whom the Browns discarded when they traded for Watson, Baker Mayfield, is the NFL’s top-rated passer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Watson ranks 29th.

Watson said the Browns’ owners, Jimmy and Dee Haslam, and General Manager Andrew Berry remain supportive.

“I can’t speak for the fans,” Watson said. “I can’t speak for anybody outside this building. But I know from hearing from the Haslams and AB and those guys, I know that they tell me each and every day that they support me and they’ve got my back and that they want me to focus on being the best quarterback I can be.”