Dolphins Rule Out Trade for Deshaun Watson

Watson has not played since the 2020 season as he faces 22 active civil lawsuits and reportedly 10 criminal complaints.

Editor’s note: This story contains alleged accounts of sexual assault. If you or someone you know is a survivor of sexual assault, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or at https://www.rainn.org

After a year of rumors circulating about whether Deshaun Watson would sport a Dolphins jersey, the franchise has made a decision. 

“The door is shut on Deshaun Watson,” Miami general manager Chris Grier said Wednesday, per Sports Illustrated‘s Albert Breer. This comes a day after Houston general manager Nick Caserio confirmed the franchise is taking the quarterback’s situation on a “day-to-day” basis.

“We’re day-to-day in terms of handling that,” Caserio said. “Once the information becomes more relevant and prevalent, then we’ll handle it accordingly. My philosophy from the beginning has always been to do the right thing by the Houston Texans organization and we’re going to continue to do that here moving forward.”

Watson made it clear that he wanted to be traded from Houston over a year ago, but then, he soon faced extensive legal trouble—22 active civil lawsuits and reportedly 10 criminal complaints. From March 16 until April 14, 23 lawsuits were filed against the Texans quarterback describing sexual harassment and sexual assault, spanning from March 2020 until March ’21.

One lawsuit was dropped by a plaintiff “for now,” according to court documents, “in light of privacy and security concerns.”

The civil lawsuits currently on the Harris County District Clerk’s website include allegations that range from Watson refusing to cover his genitals to forcing women to put his penis in their mouth. 

A court recently ruled Watson can be deposed in the coming weeks for nine of the active lawsuits he faces, per ESPN’s John Barr. The quarterback’s attorney, Rusty Hardin, argued that the deposition should be delayed given that it is not known yet whether Watson will face criminal charges. The judge denied the motion for the civil cases.

A decision from the Harris County District Attorney concerning the status of the charges could be given by Apr. 1, Hardin said. 

Sports Illustrated obtained text messages that revealed that the lawsuits filed against Watson were in the works before his requests to be traded. He remained on the team for the 2021 season but did not play. There were rumors that he would be traded to the Dolphins, but the move did not play out ahead of the trade deadline.

The franchise reportedly emerged as a frontrunner in trade talks last August. At the time, Houston was reportedly looking for three first-round picks and two second-round picks in negotiations.