Mr. Scot

Might be the perception that he's a little bit of a loose cannon. I know Steve Smith ripped him pretty good last year.

True, and a lot of successful ones are a--holes (I say this as someone who's met my fair share). Heck, in some cases - like if you're going up against a rich, famous, super popular person - you might need somebody who's a little bit full of sh-t. A more sober, cautious attorney could suggest just settling for whatever you can get (or just dropping it entirely) whereas a bombastic a--hole might turn it into a personal crusade. As to the attorney in this case, he's definitely not somebody I'd want to work with, but it's not my situation.

Good statement...

There are people's real lives involved here, including Watson's. I can't understand anyone's top priority in a situation like that still being football.

Here's a surprise. It is reported to be only a one-year deal.

We seem to be a very depressed bunch

Heck, two or three different trades have gone down this year with just a swap of picks. Not sure we could get something like that in this case. Don't really know that much about him or why he's seeking a trade.

I can understand having reasonable doubts in cases like this, but if your whole rationale basically boils down to "I don't believe them because I want Deshaun to play for the Panthers", you seriously need to ask yourself some questions.

Another potential option... I'd have to see his contract, but it's hard to imagine he's making as much as Kyle Fuller was.

Seriously

As was previously asked, all nine of them? Worth noting that yhey're risking a lot more than their license. Win or lose, pretty good chance their lives are never going to be the same after this. People's identities do often come out in stories like this, and death threats typically follow. And to be real, do you actually think "paid escorts" would go through the court system where their professions would be a point of evidence? Back channel contacts threatening to go public if they didn't get paid, maybe. The court system? A lot less likely. I'd add too that knee jerk reactions like "just a bunch of sluts trying to get paid" are pretty embarrassing. Watson may or may not be guilty, but we should all at least be mature enough to see what happens.

Not sure who's "excited" (except maybe Sizzlebuzz) but this is way beyond being just a football story. Frankly, it's a pretty terrible story overall. The football part of it is the least concern. As Ellis pointed out, somebody winds up hurt in all this. Maybe it's an innocent guy. Maybe it's a group of victimized women. Who knows... but it's all pretty nasty either way. That's not really something anybody should be "excited" about.

I don't know that I'd bet on us overpaying anybody this offseason.

Again, some of the women involved in this story are state licensed massage therapists. As was pointed out, that's not an easy thing to become. And if it were true, that would be a pretty easy thing to figure out.

Agree that's odd, but we don't know the details. If he did something minor and then apologized, but did something worse the second time, that's a reasonable story.

Even in criminal cases, nobody says "well if there isn't video, there's no evidence". That'd be an absolutely ridiculous standard for courts to follow. And no, it isn't true in civil cases either. Not should it be.

Sorry dude, but the suggestion that if this doesn't go to criminal court nobody's going to care is completely off the mark. The allegations that have been made here are pretty serious, and the notion that a team in this day and age would just sweep them under the rug is just not credible.

Nothing earth shattering here, just a reason to snicker

The NFL's standard of "proof" is basically believability. If they think it could have happened, they can suspend you for it.

Yeah...it doesn't work that way. Courts don't say "well if there's no video, you can't prove it", not even civil ones.

Oh hell, no. Honestly, if the part about him forcing oral sex turns out to be believable, I don't see how anyone could sign him.

If they find the stuff that's being alleged believable (especially the parts about him forcing a kiss, forcing oral sex and trying to force someone to touch his penis) then I'd say a suspension is likely. Might even be a pretty significant one.

That figure's getting thrown around here some but it's not necessarily accurate. Watson's quote said Buzbee asked for "six figures". I don't remember seeing anything more specific than that. And as mentioned before, that's Watson's word. Don't know if there's any other evidence of it happening (text, or email or anything).

If he's guilty (and I do still consider that an "if") the only thing that I can figure is that as a young, rich, professional athlete he might have believed he was untouchable. Heaven knows young people, and especially young athletes, often think they're invincible. Fame and money don't exactly diminish those feelings.

Massage therapist?