"I'm just a little shocked that now he's deciding to settle it" - RGIII on Browns' Deshaun Watson settling 20 of the 24 sexual assault lawsuits against him

Deshaun Watson was the topic of conversation on First Take, with former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III sharing his thoughts on the Cleveland Browns signal-caller. Griffin III said he’s shocked that the Browns quarterback has decided to settle the cases against him only now when he could've done so months ago.

"I'm just a little shocked that now he's deciding to settle it. He could have done this months ago, and it wouldn't have been as much of a problem for those 13 teams that you talked about weeks ago that went after him and tried to get him to be on their team.”

The ESPN analyst went on to claim that the NFL has looked out of its depth and that it’s not the league's job to work on due process with respect to the quarterback.

“The league has looked completely bewildered by all this as they tried to, you know, work on due process and that whole innocent until proven guilty that the law is supposed to provide but as you [Stephen A. Smith] stated so many times, that's not the NFL’s job.”

Griffin III ended his statement by saying that it’s the league’s job to protect the NFL shield and that the Cleveland signal-caller has been detrimental to it.

“The NFL's job is to protect the shield, and Deshaun Watson has been detrimental to the shield no matter what you think about the validity of the allegations against him."

The attorney for the plaintiffs in the civil lawsuits against Watson recently revealed that 20 of the 24 cases filed against the quarterback have been settled. Tony Buzbee said in a statement that the terms and amounts of the settlements will remain confidential:

"We are working through the paperwork related to those settlements, Once we have done so, those particular cases will be dismissed. The terms and amounts of the settlements are confidential. We won't comment further on the settlements or those cases."

Buzbee mentioned that the first woman to file a lawsuit against the quarterback, Ashley Solis, is not one of the 20 plaintiffs who chose to settle. He called Solis one of the heroes of the story:

"Ashley Solis is one of the heroes of this story. Her case has not settled and thus her story and that of the other three brave women will continue. I look forward to trying these cases in due course, consistent with other docket obligations and the court's schedule.”

Will Deshaun Watson be suspended by the NFL?

Watson at the Cleveland Browns Offseason Workout

Despite settling most of the lawsuits, Watson will still likely be suspended by the league for violating their personal conduct policy.

This case is uncommon on many fronts, given the number of allegations against the new Browns quarterback.

The league is close to finishing its investigation into the three-time Pro Bowler and a decision can be expected soon.

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If you use any of the above quotes, please credit: First Take, ESPN, and H/T Sportskeeda.