Former Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is facing a new legal issue.
“Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will face the Jaguars’ defense Sunday, but right now he’s fighting what most of us face at some point – a speeding ticket,” Fox8 reported on September 9, noting, “A trooper with the Ohio State Highway Patrol issued Watson a speeding ticket for allegedly driving 86 in a 60 mph zone on Aug. 26 on I-480 in Cleveland.”
Fox8 added that Watson “entered a not guilty plea in Cleveland Municipal Court on Wednesday” and has a “bench trial … scheduled for Sept. 23.”
Watson is in his fifth season with the Browns, but he is looking to make his first start since 2024 in Week 1 against the Texans’ AFC South rivals, the Jaguars, who have changed a lot since his trade to Cleveland.
The news of his citation sparked a bit of sage advice from a former attorney.
Ex-Texans QB Deshaun Watson Gets Wise Words From Attorney-Turned-Insider
Former labor law attorney and litigator Mike Florio, now an NFL insider and full-time media member, urged Watson to put this matter behind him as quickly as possible, offering a reminder that his trial date is “a work day for Watson.”
“It makes sense to just accept the ticket and move on,” Florio wrote on September 9. “Surely, he won’t be missing practice before the team’s home opener.”
The date is four days ahead of their Week 3 tilt against the Carolina Panthers.
“The citation also happened four days after the low point of his Cleveland career — a preseason appearance that featured incessant booing, and a regrettable postgame press conference during which he expressed doubt as to whether he could play effectively during a future home game,” Florio wrote.
“Whether he plays in the Week 3 home game surely depends largely on how he and the team perform in the first two games of the season, at Jacksonville and at Tampa Bay.”
Deshaun Watson Looking Forward to First Regular Season Start in Nearly 2 Years
Watson met with the media on Wednesday. While the ex-Texans passer did not discuss his citation, he did talk about not concerning himself with his future. Watson is in the final year of a controversial fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract.
The Browns have incentives to bring him back. There are cap hits in void years looming large over them for the next several seasons.
Watson, though, is only worried about Week 1.
“I can’t focus on the future. I gotta focus on now. If I try to look ahead, and I get distracted … then who knows what the future might hold? So, all I can do is control these moments now and these opportunities I have now,” Watson told reporters on September 9, citing advice from Browns head coach Todd Monken, a big advocate of his.
“He’s 60. He feels like this is a shot. So, me being on my last year of my deal, and being Year 10, I feel like this is my opportunity to be able to go and showcase that I can still play in this league, and I want to continue playing in this league. So, this is my opportunity to do that.”
Former Attorney Urges Deshaun Watson to Take Action in New Legal Battle