Explaining the NFL commissioner's 'exempt list' and why Texans QB Deshaun Watson isn't on it
Brooks Kubena, Staff writerAug. 31, 2021Updated: Aug. 31, 2021 9:53 p.m.
Five months have passed since 22 women filed civil lawsuits against Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson alleging sexual assault and harassment. Five months have passed since the NFL opened its investigation into Watson. Five months have been filled with constant national media speculation that the Texans might trade Watson before the regular season begins Sept. 12 against the Jaguars at NRG Stadium.
Still, the troubling legal allegations have reached no conclusion, nor has the NFL’s separate investigation, and the Texans are now entering the regular season with a controversial quarterback — expected never to play in Houston again — taking up one of the 53 roster spots reserved for active players. ]
That Watson remains on the Texans roster isn’t surprising.
The franchise invested in the quarterback last year with a massive four-year contract extension worth $156 million, and while the organization would take a manageable financial hit by cutting Watson, team officials are holding on to the three-time Pro Bowler with hopes of trading him for multiple high draft picks once Watson’s legal issues are resolved.
That the Texans are having to designate a roster spot for a player facing serious allegations is what’s unusual.
The NFL’s personal conduct policy gives league commissioner Roger Goodell the ability to place a player on an “exempt list” that essentially puts him on paid administrative leave. Such players don’t count toward a team’s active roster.
Goodell has yet to act on the Watson case in regard to the exempt list’s three criteria: 1) a player must be charged with a felony offense or a crime of violence, 2) an NFL investigation must lead Goodell “to believe that a player may have violated” the league’s personal conduct policy, and 3) Goodell has the flexibility to temporarily place a player on the exempt list whe “a crime of violence is alleged but further investigation is required.”
Watson has yet to be formally charged. Separate from the civil lawsuits, the Houston Police Department is conducting its own investigation into the allegations. Jodi Silva, an HPD spokesperson, confirmed Tuesday that the Watson case remains ongoing.
The NFL investigation is also ongoing, league spokesperson Brian McCarthy confirmed Tuesday. Ten of the 22 plaintiffs represented by Houston attorney Tony Buzbee had interviewed with the league as of Aug. 13, and other plaintiffs had future interviews scheduled.
Additionally, Goodell has not temporarily placed Watson on the exempt list despite the allegation of “a crime of violence,” which the policy, in part, defines as “sexual assault by force or against a person who was incapable of giving consent.”
Typically, Goodell has placed players on the exempt list for physical violence.
Adrian Peterson was placed on the list in 2014 when the former Vikings running back was indicted on child abuse charges. Former Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt appeared on the list in 2018 after video showed Hunt pushing and kicking a woman during an altercation at a Cleveland hotel. When former linebacker Reuben Foster was charged with domestic violence in 2018, he was placed on the list shortly after the Washington Football Team claimed him off waivers.
Following Foster’s addition, the commissioner’s list faced widespread criticism for allowing teams to hold on their rosters, without penalty, players who have allegedly abused or assaulted people.
Texans coach David Culley said Tuesday the team has “had no conversations” with the NFL about why Watson has not been placed on the exempt list, and Culley declined to say whether he had expected Watson to be on the exempt list by now.
“I have nothing to say on that at this point,” Culley said.
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