Deshaun Watson's lawyer, Rusty Hardin, on Monday made his case for Watson's deposition to be pushed back until the criminal cases get resolved. Hardin believes that the grand jury will have come to a decision by April 1st. So he was aiming for Watson to be deposed around April 4th. But attorney Tony Buzbee, who is representing the plaintiffs, would like this process to get started ASAP, regardless of the status of the criminal cases.

Basically, Hardin claimed that several women have yet to be deposed and that Watson shouldn't have to be questioned until that takes place. There's also a chance Watson could have his comments from the civil trial used against him in a criminal trial, and Hardin voiced that concern. So a compromise was made. There are nine plaintiffs that have already been deposed and are not pressing any criminal charges, so Watson's deposition involving these nine plaintiffs can proceed when Hardin is available and not working on a different trial and case. Attorney Mike Meltser points out that likely will take place the week of March 7th. As far as the other plaintiffs, Watson will testify after April 1st.

How does this impact the Houston Texans? The longer this thing drags out, the harder it will be for the Texans to trade Watson. The Texans have reportedly been hoping to get a trade done in the middle of March, but this news about Watson's trial won't help matters. A trade can't officially take place until the new league year starts on March 16, which is also the beginning of free agency. Most teams will have a plan in place for their QB after free agency and the NFL Draft, which takes place on April 28-30. So this puts the Texans in a tough position to move Watson and get the most value in return before April 28.