Commissioner Roger Goodell won't be the judge, jury and executioner on whether Deshaun Watson violated the NFL personal conduct policy. A new feature of the CBA leaves discipline in this matter to an independent arbiter jointly selected by the NFL and players union. (Associated Press)
Roger Goodell: NFL suspension for Deshaun Watson still possible despite no criminal charges against him
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Takeaways from NFL owners meetings in Palm Beach, FL …
Commissioner Roger Goodell did not give a timetable for when the league will make a decision on potential discipline for Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson as a result of 22 civil lawsuits charging sexual abuse and misconduct.
But Goodell clarified a few things:
* Watson won’t be placed on the commissioner exempt list – a paid leave that keeps the player away from his team indefinitely while criminal proceedings are resolved. This is not a list any player wants to be on.
Watson avoided this fate when two grand juries in Texas decided not to indict Watson of any crimes.
* Watson still could be disciplined with a suspension for violations of the NFL personal conduct policy.
“The personal conduct policy is something that is very important to us, so the personal conduct policy does not need a criminal violation to be a violation of the personal conduct policy,” Goodell said. “So they recognize that that’s something we’re going to pursue. We’re going to make sure that we get to the bottom of the facts and make sure how it applies to the personal conduct policy. That’s where we are at this point. When we get to that, a decision will be made whether there should be discipline and if so what is it.”
* Goodell no longer is the judge, juror and executioner in these NFL personal conduct cases.
The players union had that changed in the 2020 collective bargaining agreement. Violations of the personal conduct policy are now disciplined by a joint discipline officer mutually chosen by the NFL and the NFL players union.
“Our people are working on [their investigation of the allegations contained in the 22 civil lawsuits],” Goodell said. “Obviously, these are serious charges. We’re looking at this seriously. We now have [some closure] obviously, at least on the criminal side of it, obviously there are still civil charges that are going on, so our investigators hopefully will have access to more information and that will be helpful obviously at getting to the conclusion of what are the facts and was there a violation of the personal conduct policy, but that determination will be made by a joint discipline officer established by the NFLPA and the NFL. She will make that decision when the facts are all in and we’ll see. There’s no timeframe on that.”
Goodell did not identify who "she" is.
Lisa Friel, NFL senior VP and special counsel for investigations, is in charge of the NFL’s investigation of the allegations against Watson. Friel was a Manhattan prosecutor for 28 years and chief of the sex crimes prosecution unit for nearly a decade.
But the final arbiter on a suspension will be someone else.
A couple other points:
* League investigations usually aren’t concluded until civil proceedings run their course.
Watson has said he intends to pursue all the cases to clear his name. If that happens and he wins all 22 cases, he could escape suspension of any length.
If Watson settles the cases financially, it would seal further comment from the plaintiffs with non-disclosure agreements, but probably would lead to a suspension.
* If Watson is suspended, estimates are it would be from four to eight games.
There is no precedent for a player facing 22 different civil cases involving relatively the same allegations.
* If Watson does receive a suspension, it would start with the first game of the regular season.
The Browns expect one and will prepare Jacoby Brissett to open the season at quarterback.
Watson would be allowed to engage in all club activities prior to that, including offseason program, minicamps, training camp and preseason games.
Back to business
GM Andrew Berry told Northeast Ohio reporters covering the meetings that he doesn’t feel pressed to move quarterback Baker Mayfield because the Browns can carry Mayfield’s $18.8 million cap figure and still conduct offseason player transactions.
It means Berry will proceed with patience in trying to accommodate Mayfield and deal him to another team. Berry sounded as if he would be willing to keep Mayfield on the roster until the quarterback market changes – perhaps right through training camp.
Can’t imagine Mayfield participating in the “voluntary” offseason program. But when it comes to “mandatory minicamp” – usually in June – Mayfield could be fined for staying away. Same with training camp.
Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.
Meantime, Berry went back to business and made his first player transaction since the controversial trade for Watson on March 18.
The Browns agreed to terms with center-guard Ethan Pocic, a free agent of the Seattle Seahawks.
Pocic was a second-round pick out of LSU in 2017. He has made starts at left guard, center and right guard – 40 overall in five seasons.
Pocic will compete with Nick Harris for the starting center job left open by the release of JC Tretter. The “loser” of that competition would drop back as the backup swingman at guard and center.
Veteran Chris Hubbard previously was re-signed to fill the role of swing tackle. The Browns expect right tackle Jack Conklin to be ready for the start of training camp after suffering a torn patellar tendon on Nov. 28.
With the additional return of reserves James Hudson, Blake Hance and Michael Dunn, it would appear Berry’s work on the offensive line is pretty much done for this transaction season.
