About twenty months ago, when Britney Taylor filed a federal civil lawsuit against wideout Antonio Brown, the first questions that moved beyond guilt or innocence were typical of the NFL’s "what-does-this-mean?" mathematics.
Something like:
What happens if there is no settlement?
Will commissioner Roger Goodell suspend Brown?
Will Taylor speak with league investigators?
And finally, the bottom line that some NFL teams really wanted to know:
How long will this hang over Brown’s career?
The answers all came in time, and they can provide an instructive backdrop to the future of Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, who is the target of 22 civil lawsuits alleging a range of sexual misconduct.