Getty Images Deshaun Watson has embraced having Jameis Winston as his backup.
Deshaun Watson cleared up any misconceptions about an animated conversation between him and fellow Cleveland Browns quarterback Jameis Winston.
Winston and Watson had an extended conversation after training camp practice on Monday, August 12. After a tough 11-on-11 session, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com said that both quarterbacks were “on one knee and Winston talking animatedly with his hands while Watson listened intently.”
#Browns QB Deshaun Watson getting some time with backup Jameis Winston post-practice.
Watson said the conversation with his backup was routine and constructive.
“That conversation was just a personal conversation,” Watson said on Thursday, August 15. “It was just both of us just chopping it up. That’s how we always talk. So it wasn’t anything that was going on with practice or anything like that. It was just one of those deals that we were speaking on whatever we were speaking on at the moment.
“We just got finished with conditioning, so I was cooked, I was tired, and then he came over. He was just being Jameis and being a motivator, a leader, a good friend and a great teammate. So we were just talking about just everything that kind of went on.”
Deshaun Watson Embracing Jameis Winston Partnership
Winston is a veteran with extensive experience. Over his nine seasons, he has passed for 22,104 yards, 141 touchdowns, and 99 interceptions. He has a 34-46 record as a starter and made the Pro Bowl in 2015 as a rookie.
Watson values his opinion and has embraced having him as an additional leader in the quarterback room.
“It’s going to help both of us,” he said. “I think coming from similar but different backgrounds, he’s played a lot of football, he’s been at the highest level, been around other pro quarterbacks. So for me it’s to be able to learn and build off the knowledge and then vice-versa, him learning from me and what I see in different schemes and different offenses and success that I had.”
“We’re feeding off each other and not just us two, but the whole room, Snoop (Tyler Huntley), DTR (Dorian Thompson-Robinson), we’re a brotherhood so every time you see us moving it’s probably one of us with each other. So that’s the chemistry and the love that we have in that room is definitely one of the best I’ve ever had.”
Deshaun Watson Unaware of Preseason Plan
Watson is coming off shoulder surgery but has been cleared for contact. He’s received most of the reps during the joint practices with the Minnesota Vikings. He didn’t see action in the first preseason game against the Green Bay Packers and will not play on Saturday, August 15, against the Vikings.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said that Watson is expected to play in the team’s preseason finale against the Seattle Seahawks. It’s a plan Watson was seemingly unaware of.
“That was the first time I heard that,” Watson said. “But if I am, I’m playing. That’s fine with me, yeah.”
Part of Watson’s problem during practice against the Vikings has been a shaky offensive line. Key members of the unit, including tackles Jack Conklin and Jedrick Wills Jr., are still missing. Watson knows it’s a work in progress but appreciates the effort his big guys up front are putting in, even if it’s not perfect right now.
“I’m very confident in my offensive line. Each one of those guys, they work hard, they study hard, they try hard,” Watson said. So all that stuff can be fixed and that’s why we go through training camps and we practice against different teams. But yeah, overall there’s some good things out there. Keep stacking these days, keep learning, keep growing from it. It’s not going to always be perfect, but we always strive to be perfect and that’s why we call it practice and training camp.”
The Browns open the regular season on September 8 against the Dallas Cowboys.
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