Is This The Real Reason QB Deshaun Watson Wants Texans Trade?

Now, maybe in the minds of the public, Watson's trade desire wasn't just about an honest guy having been lied to, but also about a man who has been something less than honest.

All along, it was suggested and therefore assumed that Deshaun Watson's trade request was fully driven by him feeling betrayed by a Houston Texans organization that promised to include him in its offseason search for new front-office leadership and then failed on that promise.

But the fact that lawsuits against the Texans quarterback were in the works even before he requested a trade from the club in January, according to text messages obtained by Sports Illustrated, suggest that owner Cal McNair and top aide Jack Easterby aren't the only people who have been less than honest about this situation.

The texts reveal that massage therapist Ashley Solis, who filed the first sexual assault lawsuit against Watson, was in contact with Tony Buzbee's law firm in December 2020. More messages between Solis and another massage therapist with whom Sports Illustrated spoke revealed that communication with Buzbee's firm was made before Week 16 of the NFL season.

The timing leads to questions about Watson's honest motivation in wanting to escape Houston: Did he know the accusations and the lawsuits, which eventually numbered near two dozen, were in the works in December - well before the organization "betrayed'' him by hiring GM Nick Caserio and coach David Culley without including him, as it had pledged to do?

And if so, was Watson's desire to depart Houston only about the front-office disconnect? Or was it also a way to distance himself from the heat of the coming lawsuits?

READ MORE: Houston Texans Sign Jeff Driskel To QB Room Keyed By Watson Issues

Solis filed a lawsuit in March of 2021, alleging that Watson sexually assaulted her during a massage session one year before that. This spring, a total of 23 lawsuits were filed against Watson, alleging sexual misconduct.

Obviously, a trade of Watson would not have erased the accusations. Nor would it have negated the NFL's conducting of its own investigation and possible punishment of the 25-year-old star player.

But maybe in the mind of Watson, it would have altered the landscape. And now, instead? Maybe in the minds of the public, Watson's trade desire wasn't just about an honest guy having been lied to, but also about a man who has been something less than honest.

READ MORE: Watson Accusers Want To 'Work Things Out' - Report