HOUSTON — Deshaun Watson is “unlikely to play” in the Texans‘ preseason opener against the Green Bay Packers “based on the limited reps he’s had in practice,” coach David Culley said Tuesday.
Earlier in the morning, Texans general manager Nick Caserio told Sports Radio 610 that he doesn’t expect Watson to travel to Green Bay for Saturday’s game.
Asked if he expected Watson to play at all this preseason, Culley said, “No comment.”
After missing a week of practice, Watson returned to the field on Monday and Tuesday. He took part in the first five periods Monday and then briefly went into the team’s indoor practice facility before returning to the sideline for the end of practice.
Watson, who reported to camp July 25 after requesting a trade in January, practiced for the first five days of training camp and then was not on the field for the next five days.
Less than two months after his trade request, the first of 23 lawsuits was filed against Watson. He currently faces 22 active lawsuits with allegations of sexual assault and inappropriate behavior. Had Watson not shown up for training camp, he would have been fined $50,000 for each day missed.
The Texans have three other quarterbacks on their roster: Tyrod Taylor, 2021 third-round pick Davis Mills and Jeff Driskel.