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Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will serve an 11-game suspension in the upcoming season, with his first game in a Browns jersey to be against his former ballclub, the Houston Texans, in early December, Houston-based media outlets reported citing the Associated Press (AP) and ESPN.
Watson, a former first-round pick of the Texans in 2017, was originally to serve a six-game suspension for violating the National Football League’s (NFL) personal conduct policy, but the NFL and the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) reached a settlement regarding the signal-caller’s punishment on Thursday, according to an AP report ran by Houston CBS affiliate KHOU.
The amended suspension is a major development in the nearly two-year-old legal saga surrounding the 26-year-old Watson.
More than 20 women alleged that the seventh year field general committed sexual misconduct against them during his time with the Texans, according to Houston Daily.
The AP reported that all but one lawsuit against Watson have been settled.
An “extremely appreciative” Watson said in a statement that he’s grateful “the disciplinary process has ended,” per the AP.
“I apologize once again for any pain this situation has caused,” he said. “I take accountability for the decisions I made.”
The AP reported that he still asserts his innocence.
"I feel like a person has the opportunity to stand on his innocence and prove that,” Watson said, according to the report. “We proved that on the legal side and we just got to push forward as an individual and a person."
Citing ESPN, Houston ABC affiliate KTRK reported that the agreement between all parties has been agreed upon but not signed.
Aside from serving the newly issued suspension, Watson is ordered to pay a $5 million fine with the funds earmarked for an unspecified charity.
Earlier this year, a cadre of Houston-area grand juries declined to indict Watson.
The Texans traded him to the Browns last March.