Warren Moon Believes Legal Woes Affecting Deshaun Watson's Play

Warren Moon believes Deshaun Watson's legal woes are contributing to his recent stretch of poor play ... telling TMZ Sports, "I think a lot of his problems are mental."

The Cleveland Browns star, of course, has battled double-digit cases in courtrooms throughout the past few years ... and, just recently, he was sued once more by another woman accusing him of sexual assault.

The quarterback hasn't ever said publicly if it's all affected him on the field ... but when we talked this week to Moon -- who developed a friendship with the 29-year-old signal-caller during his time in Houston, Texas (where Warren's a legend) -- he told us it's hard to believe it's not impacting him on the field.

"He's still dealing with a lot of that crap that he dealt with a couple of years ago with the lawsuits and all that," the Hall of Famer said. "And now, all of the sudden, another lawsuit comes up."

"It seems like just when he's starting to maybe get his career back on track from getting over the lawsuits -- and then the injuries that he's had the last couple years -- here comes another one."

The first lawsuit alleging misconduct against Watson came back in 2021 -- after he had made three straight Pro Bowls. An avalanche of suits followed in the ensuing months. Watson ended up reaching settlements with almost all of his accusers in 2022 ... but, since the filings, Watson has not returned to a Pro Bowl.

In fact, he hasn't started more than six games in a year ... and has yet to top more than 1,115 passing yards in a season.

And, Moon, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, doesn't think that's coincidental.

"It seems like every time he goes out on the field he's playing with a heavy mind and he's not able to focus on the game," Warren said. "He's probably trying a little bit too hard. He's pressing. And he's just not able to play the way he's capable of playing."

"I kind of understand it," the former Oilers superstar quarterback said. "I sympathize with it, but some of this, he put himself in those situations."

Through two games this season, Watson's been up and down... but he'll have the chance to prove once more he's still got elite skills in him this weekend, when Cleveland takes on the Giants at home.