The Facts: If, as it appears, the silence of the past few weeks regarding the Watson lawsuits was the result of efforts to settle the pending 22 civil cases, those efforts apparently have ended. At least for now. Attorney Tony Buzbee, who represents the 22 women suing Watson, told Mark Berman of FOX26 in Houston that a settlement of the cases "is not happening."

Diehards Line: As PFT's Mike Florio explains, that could simply be posturing sparked by whatever issues have emerged to prevent a global resolution, but the settlement value partially has been undermined by virtue of the fact that, according to Buzbee, four of his clients already have met with Lisa Friel, the league's chief investigator regarding matters falling under the umbrella of the Personal Conduct Policy. From Watson's perspective, a settlement coupled with a broad confidentiality agreement would have prevented the 22 plaintiffs from providing information to Friel, complicating the NFL's ability to determine whether Watson engaged in any wrongdoing. Bottom line? The settlement talks, which most likely were happening, have reached an impasse. Buzbee's comments seem to be aimed at trying to break the logjam and, if not, to force the league to take the situation more seriously than, in his clients' perspective, it previously has.