Quarterback Deshaun Watson’s hearing with the NFL and judge Sue Robinson concluded on Thursday afternoon. Several interesting subplots emerged from the process, with many saying that things are trending in Watson’s direction.
The star quarterback and his team allegedly pushed for zero discipline from the league office. They said that an unprecedented punishment was considering the league didn’t exercise discipline unto owners Dan Snyder and Robert Kraft, both of whom dealt with similar injustice.
While zero discipline is highly unlikely, it appears that the punishment won’t be as extreme as some initially thought. The NFL reportedly leaked they hoped for an indefinite suspension with the idea of making Watson and his team cave into a longer suspension.
However, Watson held firm and could stand to gain from it. ESPN’s Tony Grossi reported that he had two separate sources say that Watson would see the field in some capacity during the 2022 season.
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Grossi added that both sources maintained anonymity because they weren’t authorized to share details on the hearing. While the discussions went on behind closed doors, information continued to trickle out.
The league office supposedly admitted they are seeking an unprecedented suspension, but the NFLPA maintained that the discrepancy between the owners’ punishment and Watson’s is unacceptable.
We seem to be trending towards a suspension between six and eight games. No one can predict Judge Robinson’s decision, but the code of conduct specifically outlined this situation.
If the league is unable to argue that a player’s conduct was or with malicious intent, then the baseline for such violent is six games. That would align with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and running back Ezekiel Elliot’s suspensions earlier in the decade.
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