Cleveland Browns 'just deal' with uncertainty around NFL appeal of Deshaun Watson suspension

BEREA − Monday came and went with the Browns feeling as if there was at least some idea of where the finish line stood with Deshaun Watson's personal-conduct case with the NFL. They knew the quarterback would be suspended six games due to the decision of disciplinary officer Sue L. Robinson.

However, there was always that possibility looming on the horizon of an appeal, specifically from the NFL. That appeal came on Wednesday afternoon, and it's basically put the Browns back at square one.

"Like I've said to you guys from the beginning, we're just controlling what we can control," coach Kevin Stefanski said at training camp Friday. "[We just] understand that this is a process. I'll continue to make decisions with the information that I have."

The NFL Players Association announced via Twitter just after 4:45 p.m. Friday that it had filed its reply brief to the NFL's appeal. It was required to do so by the end of the day, per the collective bargaining agreement.

Watson was a participant in Friday's practice, the Browns' eighth full-squad training camp practice. He once again took most of the first-team quarterback reps, although Jacoby Brissett was also involved with that group.

Brissett is expected to start the games Watson will miss with whatever length suspension he ends up serving. The NFL is expected to once again seek an indefinite suspension of at least a full season as it had done during the hearings with Robinson.

"I think all of these scenarios you have to be ready for," Stefanski said. "Again, like we've talked about all along, I don't spend a lot of time thinking about various scenarios. Just deal with what's in front of us."

Stefanski declined to talk about the potential for adding another veteran quarterback to the room. On July 22, the Browns signed Josh Rosen to be a fourth camp quarterback behind Watson, Brissett and Joshua Dobbs.

The Browns open the preseason next Friday in Jacksonville. They are scheduled to have just three practice days − Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday − before departing for Florida.

Exactly how the Browns will handle the quarterback situation, specifically as it pertains to Watson and Brissett, in that game remains fluid.

"We're talking through that," Stefanski said. "It's coming up here on Friday, so we're talking through some of those scenarios. I haven't finalized those just yet."

All of that, of course, hinges on a final decision from former New Jersey attorney general Peter C. Harvey. He was selected on Thursday to be NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's designee to rule on the league's appeal.

The appeal, according to the personal conduct policy, is "based upon a review of the existing record without reference to evidence or testimony not previously considered. No additional evidence or testimony shall be presented to or accepted by" Harvey.

Harvey, whose decision will be final, will have the ability to overturn, reduce, modify or increase the discipline. While the personal conduct policy states that the appeal must be processed on an expedited basis, there remains no exact timetable for when a final decision will be rendered.

"Obviously we want to know what’s going on and be done with it," right guard Wyatt Teller said. "If any team was in that situation, that’s what they’d want. We’ve got to, like I said, worry about your individual thing and kind of let that be handled by whoever’s in charge."

Goodell could've chosen to handle the appeal himself, but reports have indicated expediency in issuing a decision led him to pick Harvey. The commissioner was expected to be tied up over the next few days with responsibilities in conjunction with the Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement weekend taking place down the road from Browns headquarters in Canton.

Robinson stated in her decision that she believed Watson had posted three separate personal conduct policy violations by engaging in sexual assault as defined by the NFL, by posing a "genuine danger to the safety and well-being of another person" and that his "predatory conduct" put a "negative light" on the NFL. However, she cited a lack of precedence as her reason for not handing down a harsher penalty.

The discipline stems from 26 women accusing Watson through the judicial system of sexual misconduct or sexual assault during massage appointments. He had been sued by 24 women, with settlements eventually coming in 23 of those cases.

The Houston Texans, who dealt Watson to the Browns on March 18, also settled with 30 women who made or intended to make claims against the team for its role in enabling Watson.

Contact Chris at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns 'just deal' with uncertainty around appeal of Watson suspension