By Bob Condotta
Seattle Times staff reporter
The path for the Seahawks — and any other team in the NFL — to acquire Deshaun Watson became clearer Friday when a grand jury in Houston declined to indict him on sexual assault and harassment charges.
As reported by The New York Times, “The district attorney’s office in Harris County, Texas, presented evidence to the 12-person grand jury for over six hours on Friday related to nine of the 10 criminal complaints filed against Watson last year, which described a range of actions including his exposing himself, purposely touching therapists’ hands with his penis and sexual assault.”
As The Times further reported: “The grand jury rejected all nine cases — prosecutors did not present the tenth — indicating it did not believe the evidence presented by prosecutors showed probable cause to support criminal charges.’’
Almost immediately upon that news breaking Friday afternoon, the Seahawks were mentioned as a team that could be interested in trading for Watson, currently a member of the Houston Texans.
But while teams now know that Watson won’t face legal issues in relation to his accusations of sexual harassment and assault arising from massage sessions, he is still facing the possibility of up to 22 civil suits as well as an investigation from the NFL that could result in punishment or missed games.
An NFL spokesman told The Seattle Times on Friday afternoon, “We have been closely monitoring all developments in the matter, which remains under review of the personal conduct policy.’’
The allegations against Watson and the civil suits and NFL investigation that remain ongoing means any move by any team for Watson won’t come without some controversy and public debate.
But initial reports are that many teams are expected to immediately look into trading for Watson, including the Seahawks.
In fact, Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network said earlier in the day that “in talking to friends around the league, the expectation from every single one of them is that when it’s all said & done Deshaun Watson’s gonna be the quarterback (for the Seattle Seahawks).’’
Other reports, though, indicated it’s far from a slam dunk that the Seahawks will get Watson to replace Russell Wilson, who was traded to the Denver Broncos on Tuesday, assuming that they want to.
Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network said Friday afternoon to “expect a very, very strong market for Deshaun Watson, who becomes the top player available across the NFL.’’
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https://seattletimes.com/sports/seahawks/seahawks-linked-to-deshaun-watson-after-qb-avoids-criminal-charges-in-sexual-assault-investigation/
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