Former Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is entering a critical season with the Cleveland Browns.
Four seasons have passed since Watson last donned a Texans uniform (five counting the 2021 season wiped out by injury). He has yet to regain the form that led him to three Pro Bowl selections, largely due to injuries.
His future remains uncertain, but one current teammate shared a telling message.
Deshaun Watson Appears to Get Strong Message From Browns’ Jerry Jeudy
GettyFormer Houston Texans star Deshaun Watson remains a polarizing figure.
Watson was a first-round pick by the Texans, and he showed his pedigree early on. But his journey since has been littered with, not only injuries, but also off-field turmoil and on-field ineffectiveness.
That latter part continued during the Browns’ offseason program.
However, Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy fielded a question about who he wanted to be the team’s starter and, in the edited clip on social media, appears to show Watson.
“Someone asked Jerry Jeudy on Tik Tok who he wants the Browns starting QB to be [eyes emojis],” ESPN Cleveland captioned a post on X on July 26, while quoting the clip from a fan’s account.
Again, though, the video is edited, as many fans in the comments pointed out. Jeudy responded.
“I don’t speak on decisions that aren’t mine to make,” Jeudy said in a post on X on July 26 in response to the falsified clip. “I support my teammates/Brothers, I do my job, and control what I can control. Let’s stop creating narrative that aren’t there for likes and clicks. I bet this won’t go viral because it’s too positive/real for y’all [100 emoji].”
Among other noticeable visible screen changes, it cuts right after the question appears on the screen to a shot of Jeudy giving his answer. The comments are no longer visible at that point.
Moreover, the clip is not posted on Jeudy’s TikTok nor his Instagram (or Instagram story), at least not any longer, in the past 24 hours. That only casted more doubts upon the narrative the clip pushes amid Watson’s battle with teammate Shedeur Sanders before he addressed it.
Nevertheless, Jeudy and Watson worked out together this offseason.
Jeudy played with Sanders last year, too. His opinion would be one worth making note of. That does not appear to be the case in this situation, though.
Deshaun Watson Expected to Open Training Camp as QB1
GettyDeshaun Watson still has momentum to be the Cleveland Browns’ starter.
Despite Watson’s inconsistency during the Browns’ offseason program, expectations are that the ex-Texans franchise QB will be QB1 in Cleveland when training camp opens. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport believes Watson will at least get the first opportunity.
“I think it’s fair to say that Deshaun Watson had the leg up on this competition as you left minicamp,” Rapoport said on “The Insiders” on July 26. “I think pretty fair to say Deshaun had the lead. This is going to be one of the more interesting quarterback competitions of all of trading camp in the NFL.”
Former Browns wide receiver Andrew Hawkins also believes that Watson will lock up the starting job come Week 1.
That is, if he can regain his form when it counts.
“Now in the fifth and final year of his $230 million contract, Watson is trying to rewrite what has been a disappointing tenure in Cleveland,” ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi wrote on July 23. “Watson is back healthy and is paired with a new coach, but can he tap back into a semblance of his three-time Pro Bowl form?”
Watson is in the final year of his contract with the Browns. But the ex-Texans QB will count $36 million against Cleveland’s books in 2027 and $51.5 million in 2028. A one-year deal in 2027 could make sense for both sides, but that might require a great year from Watson.
Teammate’s Reaction Raises Eyebrows About Former Texans QB Deshaun Watson