Trading Deshaun Watson to Cleveland Browns gives 'clarity' to QB, Houston Texans, GM Nick Caserio says

HOUSTON — After trading quarterback Deshaun Watson to the Cleveland Browns, Texans general manager Nick Caserio says he feels both parties now have «clarity» moving forward.

«Deshaun has clarity on his end, relative to what his future holds from a football standpoint,» Caserio said Saturday. «I think there are some things still on a legal front that probably… have to take place. But just clarity for him individually [and] I think clarity for our organization in terms of what the expectation is moving forward.»

Caserio said in the 15 months since he was hired by the Texans, he has tried to be consistent in taking Watson's situation «one day at a time» so he could make «the right decision for the organization.»

«Yesterday felt like that opportunity and we felt it was the right time, so that's why we went ahead and made a decision that we did,» Caserio said. «I think we're excited about moving forward.»

Watson did not play last season after a January 2021 request to be traded and the emergence of 22 lawsuits against him alleging sexual assault and inappropriate conduct during massage sessions. On March 11, a Texas grand jury declined to indict Watson on criminal charges, ending the criminal proceedings related to him in Harris County.

The Texans sent Watson and a 2024 fifth-round pick to the Browns for three first-round picks, a 2023 third-round pick and a 2024 fourth-round pick. The Browns are set to give Watson a new five-year, $230 million contract, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter. The full $230 million is guaranteed, sources said, setting a record for the largest guarantee given to an NFL player.

Despite the draft capital the Texans received in return for Watson, Caserio acknowledged, «There's a lot of work that we