Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson would accept an eight-game suspension and $5 million fine to avoid missing the entire season, a person familiar with his defense told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Watson, who is facing a potential year-long ban for sexual misconduct, would agree to a lesser penalty in a settlement, said the person who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case.

The biggest question is whether the NFL would make this compromise.

A settlement has always been possible, but it’s not clear if the sides are in active discussions.

The league is seeking a minimum suspension of 17 games, a significant fine over $5 million and wants Watson to be required to undergo evaluation and treatment as determined by medical experts before he could be reinstated.

An independent arbitrator suspended Watson, accused of lewd sexual behavior during massage appointments with two dozen women while he played for the Houston Texans, six games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy on Aug. 1.

The league felt the punishment wasn’t enough and appealed retired federal judge Sue L. Robinson’s ruling two days later.

Asked Tuesday at the owner’s meetings why the appeal was filed, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said: “Because we’ve seen the evidence.”

CHIEFS: Patrick Mahomes will start the preseason opener in Chicago on Saturday, bucking a trend across the NFL of coaches sitting their starting quarterbacks for the first of their three exhibition games.

Chiefs Coach Andy Reid said Thursday he would stick to his usual routine of having each of the four quarterbacks in camp play for a quarter of the preseason opener. And while he acknowledged the number of snaps could change based on the way the game is going, Reid thinks it’s important for everybody – stars and backups alike – to get onto the field.

“I think it’s good to get the juices going, get yourself out there, even if it’s a limited amount of plays,” Reid said after the Chiefs wrapped up Thursday’s practice at Missouri Western State University.

“I’m not saying it’s wrong what others are doing,” Reid said. “That’s just where I’m at.”

The Raiders sat Derek Carr and the Jaguars played without Trevor Lawrence in last week’s Hall of Fame Game, though that’s typical given the game occurs a week earlier than the rest of the preseason openers. But plenty of teams are choosing to sit their starting quarterbacks this week, too, rather than risk an injury by subjecting them to unnecessary hits.

The Patriots planned to sit Mac Jones for their preseason opener against the Giants on Thursday night, and the Ravens were expected to have Lamar Jackson wearing a headset rather than a helmet for their game against the Titans.

Others sitting out include the Cowboys’ Dak Prescott, Bills starter Josh Allen and the Buccaneers’ Tom Brady, who is beginning an 11-day absence to deal with “personal things.” Aaron Rodgers also is unlikely to play for the Packers given that the four-time and reigning league MVP has not played in a preseason game for Green Bay since 2018.

“I like to get in there and get hit like, on time,” said Mahomes, who has played the preseason opener every season but 2020, when there wasn’t any because of the pandemic. “Once you get hit one time, you see what it is. Then you’re good to go.”

Mahomes threw only two passes in last year’s preseason opener against San Francisco before giving way to backup Chad Henne and the rest of the Kansas City quarterbacks. Mahomes had more extensive time in the second and third games.

When there was a four-game preseason schedule, he usually played the first three before sitting out the finale.

“It’ll be good this time to get in there with the new group of receivers we have, all the new running backs, and show how we do it in the game,” Mahomes said. “We’re doing it here in practice but we want to show how we do it in the game.”

JETS: New York and offensive tackle Duane Brown agreed to terms on a two-year contract, a person with direct knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press.

The move came three days after the Jets learned they likely lost Mekhi Becton for the season because of a knee injury suffered in practice.

Brown, who turns 37 on Aug. 30, visited the Jets and attended their scrimmage at MetLife Stadium last Saturday night. Coach Robert Saleh acknowledged there was “mutual interest,” and Becton’s injury made a deal even more likely.

TRADE RESCINDED: Tight end Adam Shaheen is back with the Miami Dolphins after his trade to the Houston Texans was called off because he failed a physical, a person with knowledge of the situation said.

Shaheen was flagged for a preexisting knee condition, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither team announced the trade cancellation publicly.

The Dolphins announced the trade Tuesday night, with the original terms being that they would get a sixth-round pick from Houston in next year’s draft for Shaheen and a 2023 seventh-round pick.

Shaheen had not missed any training camp practices with the Dolphins because of the injury.

BEARS: The contract standoff between the Chicago Bears and Roquan Smith continued Thursday, with the star linebacker watching practice from the sideline and new coach Matt Eberflus saying he expects healthy players to participate on the field.

The Bears removed Smith from the physically unable to perform list on Wednesday, opening up the possibility of fines for missing practices, a day after he went public with a trade request. Eberflus declined to discuss what actions the team might take.

“I’m not gonna get into the details of what discipline is there,” he said. “But we will certainly work through that when the time comes.”

Smith, who does not have an agent, accused the Bears of using bad-faith tactics during negotiations for a contract extension in a statement to NFL.com on Tuesday. He said the front office, led by new general manager Ryan Poles, has made take-it-or-leave-it offers since talks began in April that would be “bad for myself, and for the entire LB market if I signed it.”

Smith, the No. 8 overall draft pick in 2018, is entering the fifth and final year of his rookie contract. He was a second-team All-Pro in 2020 and 2021.

VIKINGS: Minnesota quarterback Kirk Cousins was absent from practice because of an illness, Coach Kevin O’Connell said.

Cousins was sent home after reporting he wasn’t feeling well. O’Connell did not specify the symptoms. He confirmed the Vikings were evaluating Cousins for COVID-19.

Minnesota’s first exhibition game is Sunday at Las Vegas, so it’s possible Cousins would skip the trip considering established starters are not expected to play much, if at all.

BRONCOS: The Denver Broncos now sport the wealthiest owner in the NFL and the league’s most diverse ownership group.

Four of the six members of the Walton-Penner ownership group, which was welcomed into the NFL this week, are either women or minorities.

Walmart heir Rob Walton, the oldest child of Walmart co-founder Sam Walton, bought the Broncos along with his daughter, Carrie Walton Penner, and her husband, for $4.65 billion, a global record for a professional sports franchise.

Walton said Wednesday that his son-in-law, Greg Penner, will serve as CEO of the team. The Broncos also hired NFL International CEO Damani Leech as the team’s new president. Those roles had been held by Joe Ellis, who is staying on this year as an advisor.

Leech has a quarter-century’s worth of experience as a sports executive at the college and professional levels and spent the last three years as CEO of NFL International.

The ownership group includes limited partners Mellody Hobson, Condoleezza Rice and Lewis Hamilton. Hobson is CEO of Starbucks, Rice is a former U.S. Secretary of State and Hamilton is the winningest Formula One driver in history.

Walton thanked Ellis for his 27 years of service and paid tribute to the late Pat Bowlen. He purchased the team in 1984 for $78 million and died in 2019, a month shy of his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“Pat Bowlen built a great legacy and a record of winning and championships,” Walton said. “We plan to do everything we can to build on the championship tradition of this great organization. … Simply put, it’s an honor to steward this historic franchise. Our No. 1 priority is putting a winning team on the field to win Super Bowls.”

Before Walton’s group purchased the Broncos, the NFL’s wealthiest owner was Carolina’s David Tepper, whom Forbes estimates has a total net worth of $16.7 billion. Walton’s estimated net worth is $60 billion.

PANTHERS: Owner David Tepper’s real estate company has promised to pay more than $82 million to creditors over an abandoned practice facility project in Rock Hill under a new plan proposed.

The plan would require approval from courts and creditors. The development of the Panthers’ state-of-the-art $800 million practice facility – which would have served as the team’s new headquarters – fell apart after highly-publicized disputes between Tepper and the City of Rock Hill and York County.

GT Real Estate Holdings, a Delaware limited liability company, announced it has filed a comprehensive plan of reorganization in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

Under the terms of the plan, GTRE would resolve claims by paying $60.5 million in cash funded into a settlement trust for the benefit of contractors, subcontractors and general unsecured creditors, $21.1 million to York County and $20 million or more to the City of Rock Hill.

DT Sports Holding, LLC, a Tepper entity, previously funded $20 million in debtor-in-possession financing.

Tepper’s real estate company, GTRE, filled for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 2. York County announced a few days later it was suing Tepper for at least $21 million.

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