The Cleveland Browns hold the No. 1 and No. 12 picks in the NFL draft this year. As such, they are also a team in need of upgrades at nearly every position.
Deshaun Watson turned down the Senior Bowl, not the Browns
After a conversation with the Cleveland staff, Watson made a final decision not to play in the Senior Bowl.
Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
Enter Deshaun Watson: Clemson’s national title-winning quarterback who will be on the wish list of numerous clubs this offseason. The Browns have already shown interest in him, and spoke to the quarterback about possibly attending the Senior Bowl this week where the Cleveland staff is coaching the South team that Watson would play for if he accepted.
Except he declined.
“We extended an invitation that was on the table for six weeks, if not two months,” Senior Bowl executive director Phil Savage said Monday. “I did ask the Cleveland Browns to reach out to him and talk to him about the positives of the game. I do not know the context of that conversation, but I do know that he was noncommittal.
“He never said no to the Browns; he said no, ultimately, to the Reese’s Senior Bowl. I just want to be clear that Deshaun Watson did not say no to Hue Jackson or anybody from the Browns ... I spoke to Deshaun and his agent and he politely declined, but he was honored that we thought he was good enough to come here.”
After back-to-back years of making it to the College Football Playoff title game, Watson is, understandably, taking more time off to rest and heal. Coaches and executives will have to wait until the scouting combine in March.
It’s a move that will no doubt be scrutinized endlessly until the draft, but probably won’t be a big deal after that. The Browns still seem interested in taking the quarterback, regardless.
“Obviously we wish he were here,” Jackson said to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “It would’ve been a great chance to have an opportunity to evaluate him doing the things we do in meetings and on the practice field. But that’s not going to happen, so we’ll have to find a different way of evaluating him.”
The Senior Bowl has an air of added importance this year after the Cowboys used the game to hone in on quarterback Dak Prescott last year.
In Watson’s defense, he’s been on the biggest stage in college sports for the last two years now and the NFL Combine will still allow teams to scout him to their liking.
If missing the Senior Bowl means not getting selected first overall by the Browns, well, there are worse fates in the world of professional football.
See More:
