Deshaun Watson won’t face trial during the 2022 NFL season

The new quarterback of the Cleveland Browns won’t face trial until after the 2022 season, is this delay a good or bad thing for Deshaun Watson?

In an article on Sunday, Mark Florio of Yahoo Sports reported that Cleveland Browns quarterback, Deshaun Watson, won’t face trial during the 2022 NFL season. Lawyers handling the cases on both sides have agreed no trials will occur before March 1st, 2023.

The bad news in this, we head into the 2022 season with this still looming. While there won’t be any criminal charges which are good for Watson as far as not going to jail, the civil suits could still lead to a major suspension by the NFL.

The good news about the delay, it will be tough for the NFL to rule judgment with cases still open. That means there’s a chance that there would be no suspension for the 2022 season, but then the questions for the 2023 season would be lingering all offseason.

In the grand scheme, this delay seems like a bigger sideshow for the Cleveland Browns than they need at the moment. Remember, Watson had the ability to close 18 of these cases last October but was adamant about not settling and fighting to prove his innocence.

I don’t know what happened in any of those situations and I’m certainly not qualified to make any decisions. But strictly from a football standpoint, I’m sure the Browns organization is rooting for these cases to be settled so their $230 million quarterback can worry about winning football games and nothing else.

Jacoby Brissett (and Baker Mayfield for the moment) remain on the roster as a backup plan should Watson be suspended for any portion of the season. If history holds true, many believe it will be a six-game suspension, whenever the punishment does come out.

It’s great to have an elite quarterback on the roster, but it has certainly come with some strings attached to this point.