With his football career in limbo, Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson nevertheless needs to be ready for the reality that it won’t stay there forever.
Watson has posted a series of workout videos on his Instagram page. It’s the first we’ve seen or heard from him since he preemptively addressed the filing of the first of 22 lawsuits alleging misconduct during massage therapy sessions.
He’s shown engaging in a variety of drills, both on a field and in a gym. They look fairly basic and safe, but as everyone learned (or should have learned) in the Ja’Wuan James situation, a fluke injury that would knock Watson out for 2021 would jeopardize his eight-figure salary that otherwise is guaranteed for skill, salary cap, or injury suffered at the team facility.
If/when the lawsuits pending against Watson are settled, he’d quite possibly be promptly traded to a new team. For now, he’s a Texan -- but he has no inclination to work out with the Texans. The Texans, in turn, are probably glad he’s not showing up.
If the cases aren’t settled before training camp and Watson shows up (under those circumstances, he likely would), the league could place him on paid leave. If on paid leave for the full season, he’d get more than $10 million for 2021 from the Texans. Thus, that $10 million is at risk, even if the risk is small, when it comes to any and all workouts in which he engages away from work.