JJ Watt Had Blunt Message for Browns on Deshaun Watson
· Yahoo Sports
The Cleveland Browns have insisted Deshaun Watson’s contract did not factor into the decision to name him the starting quarterback. J.J. Watt is not buying that explanation entirely.
Watt was not surprised that Watson beat out Shedeur Sanders after a close quarterback competition. Watson’s former teammate believes the Browns’ massive financial investment in Watson made him the logical choice if there was not much separation between the two.
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“I would say I’m not surprised. It kind of seemed like this is the way they have been going all offseason in training camp,” Watt said during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show. “If things are close, when you’re paying somebody $230 million fully guaranteed, that’s the person that you’re going to want to give every single opportunity to hopefully somehow, someway make you right on that contract. It doesn’t surprise me that they’ve gone that way. They haven’t been able to find their quarterback for a very, very long time. They have a really good fanbase, and I would love to see them be successful.”
Deshaun Watson Needs to Produce Early Results With Browns
GettyBrowns QB Deshaun Watson will open the season as the starter.Watt and Watson spent four seasons together with the Houston Texans from 2017 through 2020. Watson earned three consecutive Pro Bowl selections during that stretch and appeared to be emerging as one of the league’s premier quarterbacks.
That version of Watson has not surfaced in Cleveland. Watt acknowledged that there is no way to know if Watson will recapture his old form, although the odds are against him. He also raised the question of how long Watson’s leash will be.
“The question everybody asks is how long is this going to last, and how good will he be?” Watt said. “And who knows? I don’t know the answer to that, but I’m certainly going to be watching.”
Deshaun Watson Has Fallen Short of Expectations in Cleveland
GettyCleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson against the Bears in a preseason game.The Browns acquired Watson from the Texans in March 2022, sending Houston three first-round picks and additional draft capital. The move was supposed to end the Browns’ long-running search for a franchise quarterback. Instead, Watson has appeared in only 19 games over four seasons because of a suspension and injuries.
Watson served an 11-game suspension during his first season in Cleveland. A shoulder injury ended his 2023 campaign after six starts. Now, Watson is coming off a pair of Achilles surgeries, which forced him to miss all of last season.
Watson is 9-10 as Cleveland’s starter with 19 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions. He has not played in a regular-season game since October 2024. But Monken ultimately determined Watson gave Cleveland its best chance to open the season.
“Took in the full body of work over the course of offseason to training camp to the games and the joint practice, and ultimately, felt like to start the season on the road, Deshaun gave us the best chance to move the ball and score points,” Monken said. “And that’s really what it’s about.”
Sanders went 3-4 in seven starts as a rookie, completing 56.6% of his passes with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He will likely get another opportunity to start this season. The question is not if, but when, especially considering Watson’s recent injury history.
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