NFL Called Out for Glaring Omission of Browns QB Deshaun Watson

Deshaun Watson

Getty Images Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns.

Deshaun Watson made some big plays during the Cleveland Browns‘ 24-10 victory against the Washington Commanders on Sunday but his name was suspiciously omitted from the ongoing highlight reel on the NFL’s Twitter feed.

The NFL account posts most the majority of scoring plays, tagging or writing the name of the player who pulled off the feat. Dov Kleiman pointed out that Watson has not been included by the account in their captions.

“As you can see from the captions, the NFL don’t even mention the QB, Deshaun Watson, which again, is very unusual,” he tweeted with evidence of how the Browns’ touchdowns were framed. “The QB always gets mentioned, as you can tell from their timeline, but not here.”

The NFL featured Amari Cooper, who scored twice, but there was no mention of Watson. When he hit Donovan Peoples-Jones on a touchdown, the caption just read, “Browns take a 10-point lead.”

It wouldn’t be shocking if the NFL social team was mandated to not include Watson, considering his situation. Watson was suspended for 11 games and fined $5 million for violating the NFL’s personal-conduct policy, stemming from dozens of sexual misconduct during massage therapy sessions.

He and the league went through an extended battle but eventually, Watson settled with the league.


Watson Backlash on Social Media Likely Reason

To say Watson is a polarizing figure might be an understatement, so the NFL is likely looking to avoid any avoidable discourse in the comments section.

Evidence can be seen on a post from LeBron James, who commended Watson during his performance on Sunday.

“Yessir D Watson!! Another one. That boy getting his rhythm back!” James wrote.

James caught some heat in the replies for showing his support of Watson.

“Lebron publicly supporting a sexual predator was not on my 2023 bingo card,” one commenter wrote.

James’ NFL loyalty has bounced around between the Browns, Dallas Cowboys and even Los Angeles Rams. But he revealed last year that he could no longer be a Dallas Cowboys fan because of some things going on with the franchise, specifically owner Jerry Jones’ stance on players kneeling for the anthem.

“Nah, man. I had to sit out on the Cowboys, man,” James said in an Instagram Live session. “There’s just a lot of things that were going on when guys were kneeling. Guys were having freedom of speech and wanting to do it in a very peaceful manner. … The organization was like, ‘If you do that around here then you will never play for this franchise again.’ I just didn’t think that was appropriate.”

Some called out James for not supporting the Cowboys but backing the Browns despite the controversial acquisition of Watson.

“Got a problem with Jerry Jones but not Watson. Wild,” another comment read.


Watson Indeed Finding Rhythm With Browns

The Browns and Watson have just one game left but it will likely include a few more highlights from the former passing leader. After a shaky first half against the Commanders, Watson tossed a trio of touchdown passes, two of them to Cooper.

“I know it was only three catches, but it was three big catches,” Watson said after the game. “I know Amari, he’s still trying to get healthy, but today was a good day to be able to, especially for the start of 2023 and what the future is going to hold for the Cleveland Browns, it was good to see that happen.”

The Browns are 3-2 with Watson under center this season. He’s passed for 872, five touchdowns and three interceptions over that span. After trading for Watson this offseason, the Browns inked him to a massive five-year, $230 million deal that is fully-guaranteed.

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