Deshaun Watson Settles Most of His Civil Sexual Misconduct Suits....But Can the Browns Be Saved?
An attorney for Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson announced Tuesday afternoon that the NFL player had settled all but four sexual misconduct civil lawsuits against him. There were 24 in total. The settlements are confidential.
“Today I announce that all cases against Deshaun Watson, with the exception of four, have settled,” Buzbee said in a statement. “We are working through the paperwork related to those settlements. Once we have done so, those particular cases will be dismissed. The terms and amounts of the settlements are confidential. We won’t comment further on the settlements or those cases.”
Fully aware of the allegations against Watson, the Browns still traded for him and will pay the former Texans player $230 million over a five-year period.
The Browns are listed at 25-1 odds to win the 2023 Super Bowl and Watson is a player who can get them there. There is likely more value in betting on a Watson suspension this coming season. He's coming in at -600 odds for a near 86% chance he will be.
Gronk Retirement.... Again
The Tampa Bay Bucs still have the second shortest odds at just shy of 9-1 to win the Super Bowl with Tom Brady back on the roster, but they just lost a top player in 33-year-old tight end Rob Gronkowski.
He announced his retirement Tuesday afternoon.
"I want to thank the whole entire first class Buccaneers organization for an amazing ride, trusting me to come back to play and help build a championship team. I will now be going back into my retirement home, walking away from football again with my head held high knowing I gave it everything I had, good or bad, every time I stepped out on the field," Gronkowski said in his statement.
"The friendships and relationships I have made will last forever, and I appreciate every single one of my teammates and coaches for giving everything they had as well. From retirement, back to football and winning another championship and now back to chilling out, thank you to all."
Gronk came out of his first retirement and rejoined his old Patriots teammate Tom Brady, who was instrumental in getting Tampa Bay to trade for him from New England. The Pats still held Gronkowski's rights.
Bills Get New Offensive Coordinator.... What Changes?
First-time offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey will be taking over for Brian Daboll in Buffalo. The Bills are favorites to win the Super Bowl and we will learn pretty quickly just how good they are. Buffalo faces off against five playoffs teams from last season in the first seven weeks.
Dorsey has played the role of quarterbacks coach in Buffalo the last three seasons.
“Whenever you bring someone new [from outside the organization at offensive coordinator], you're talking about not only new plays, but new terminology, new words, and [we] really didn't want to get into that, if we could avoid it, because of Josh in particular amongst the rest of the core that was already intact here,” coach Sean McDermott said.
Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN notes that the team is looking to make the offense more versatile.
Last year’s roster did not include a strong backup tight end, which limited some of the playcalls and packages they could run. The addition of O.J. Howard should change that.
“There's gonna be so much versatility in this offense now, 12 and 13 personnel," tight end Dawson Knox said. "Bring us in, run the ball, spread us out, and get us good matchups."
Getzenberg adds:
Knox (6-foot-4, 254-pounds) has worked on his reliability as a pass-catcher over his career and has become a go-to target for Allen downfield, but Howard (6-6, 251) brings extra size and length to the position.
The Bills are not the most convincing favorite to win the 2023 Super Bowl with payout odds nearly 7-1. That's likely a result of the early tough schedule. If they can pass that test relatively unscathed, Gambling911.com anticipates that number being reduced.
- Mary Montgomery, Gambling911.com
