INSTANT REACTION to Deshaun Watson's first press conference w/ the Cleveland Browns since 2024

[0:00] let's dive in yet earl you mentioned it a second ago i mentioned it with jason's reverse mush but [0:05] deshaun watson spoke to the media for the first time since 2024 yesterday it was a 13 minute press [0:11] conference uh we'll talk about how he thought he handled himself there was a bunch of different [0:15] things he hit on but two quotes in particular i want to kind of highlight which will dive into our [0:20] deeper conversation on this but the first was about the fan opinion and how he relates to the [0:26] fans after some of the things that happened especially when he got booed slash cheered however [0:31] you want to categorize it when he tore his achilles and got carted off the field deshaun said and i [0:36] quote at the end of the day i can't control what people support i think that's their own opinions [0:41] i think that all i can do is just put out the best person i am showcase who i am as a person as a [0:47] player as a teammate and what i represent as an individual so outside of that i can't focus on [0:53] what the outside is saying or what they i have no control over that other than just putting the [0:57] best product that i can put out as a person and as a player basically trying to avoid the outside [1:04] noise he was also asked about jimmy has them swing and miss comment the quarterback competition we'll [1:09] talk about that in a little bit and then he was asked about his overall goal in 2026 heading into [1:14] 2027 and he kept it pretty simple deshaun said i don't know i'm just trying to play a full season [1:19] i'm just trying to be healthy so i can play all 17 plus games he also said he hasn't been 100% [1:26] healthy since week three 2023 against the tennessee titans a game the browns won a long long time ago [1:32] so guys when you look at the totality of what deshaun watson said yesterday his first press [1:38] conference since 2024 how do you think he handled himself in the light of some difficult questions [1:44] and overall do you think he came off in a positive light or a negative light jason starts out i thought [1:49] is great and he was great because he didn't make a headline he answered i thought the answer that [1:54] you showed about fan reaction perfect it was much better than it the greenbriar is when i sort of [2:01] like all right i've had enough this is nuts when we were at the greenbriar and he started acting like [2:05] a victim and about people mentioning his character why do you think people mention your character to [2:09] sean i remember that i remember that distinctive and i i walked away from that and i was like nope i'm [2:14] done i tried i'm out i'm done but yesterday i thought he handled it exactly right because there's [2:22] no great headline that came from it he didn't try to act like a victim uh he said i can't control how [2:26] people think think and feel i can do is go out and play i thought his aunt will get to the swing and [2:31] miss i thought that was right on point so i thought he handled himself extremely well and ultimately it [2:37] has no bearing on how he plays on the field but it's obviously been a pretty tumultuous relationship [2:42] with deshaun since he's been here between the city and the fans and like i'm i'm on record but he [2:48] should have been gone a long time ago he should not still be here and you can say what you want [2:52] about the job andrew barry's done rebuilding this roster and i think he's done a really nice job at [2:57] this point but the quarterback position is an absolute mess and it's a mess he created and until [3:02] they figure that out until they fix that and i'm a little bit surprised that they're putting him in [3:06] charge of ultimately fixing it uh none none of the rest of it matters so i they should have cut [3:12] deshaun before now there was a point where it was impossible it wasn't impossible at this point [3:17] they could have cut him they could have rearranged the money it would have hurt yes this team ain't [3:20] going anywhere anyway this year last year so that part i i just i don't think he should still be here [3:27] but he is so you gotta deal with it and for what he said i thought he was exactly on point yesterday [3:32] yeah i thought he came off very very well uh myself i thought that he was very composed his body [3:37] language seemed like he was a man at peace uh confident he really didn't force anything as [3:42] jason said he didn't make any headlines to me the biggest thing that he said that stood out was [3:47] he was not trying to go back and reinvent the wheel and it'll be the same deshaun watson in 2020 he says [3:54] you know i've matured i'm older i'm not the same person and or player and i thought that was a great [3:59] comment because it helped set a realistic expectation for the fan base and himself and i told g yesterday [4:05] i thought that was a very humble answer and you know they say humility before honor he sounded like [4:12] a man who has been through a lot overcame a lot and is in a really good space in his life right now [4:18] and you could just see how he you know how composed he was while answering those questions man the thing [4:24] that stood out to me was he said i'm just trying to be healthy for 17 weeks i've said this for a while [4:30] now because one thing i know about it is having multiple injuries i didn't tore my acl twice i [4:36] didn't tore my partially tore my achilles heel i'd had neck surgery i'd had back surgery i'd had toe [4:40] surgery i'd had i had surgery on every appendage on my body uh and i know what happens when you get [4:50] back-to-back injuries and you take long periods of time off i had two acos within a i wouldn't say [4:57] about a 12 month period of time um between my left knee and my right knee and i i felt the exact same [5:02] way deshaun watson did to me when you get out there and you're you're actually playing you're not [5:07] thinking oh let me come out here and just light it up like i'm my old self you're you're actually [5:13] mentally and emotionally rehabilitating yourself so every single practice you make it through is a [5:18] milestone every single especially because of him he re-injured his skillies after he had surgery [5:24] so there's parts of you and nobody will say he was like did you ever think you would come back to [5:28] play he was like yeah i kind of knew um but in in general you could say that out loud but everybody [5:35] questions their mortality and everybody questions after you then took that long of a a segment of [5:41] time off from playing everything is up in the air so i i totally felt what he was saying because [5:47] every single time he goes on the field and it's two practices in a row or three practices or [5:52] now the big part is now it's training camp it's cool sliding around in shorts and things but can [5:58] you really do it at that level when there's an option that you can get hit or that pressure is [6:03] there so for me i think he was real about it and i think he also alluded to the fact that and i know [6:08] we talked about yesterday earl is he's like this ain't 2020 i can't people keep saying we're gonna go [6:14] back and hey deshaun can get the x y and z of 2020 no he said that's that's not coming back at least [6:21] he's realistic about it because some of the some of the rhetoric around this the last few months [6:26] has been totally insane and been good in six years and people are acting like he's going to [6:31] find it come on i just think man that guy is gone we have a hard time letting go of what once was [6:37] right and that's not just in sports that's in any walk of life how many times do we do this show and [6:42] we always throw up deshaun watson's 2020 graphics and stats like we got to let that go we can't keep [6:47] sitting here thinking that a man if he was to start as the quarterback for the browns come week [6:52] one coming off two stints of 690 plus days not playing football with the speed of the game how [6:59] it is is going to be able to go back and be the same version of himself when he was much younger [7:03] and much more healthier and hadn't gone through the things that he went through off the field i just [7:08] think that's being unrealistic and i think that when fans hear that hopefully you readjust or [7:15] recalibrate whatever expectations that you have from him from a statistical standpoint [7:19] and just go out there and see what happened i feel like fans don't realize that these are [7:25] human beings with human emotions that go through life like they just look at athletes as robots [7:32] soldier in a way because like and it's it's always hard for me to have this discussion because he [7:37] brought a lot of it on himself get that out in the open i said he brought it on himself but everything [7:43] that he went through and i hate using that phrase but there is no other phrase to use everything he [7:47] went through damaged him in some way like he has never been the guy in cleveland he was in houston [7:53] never not for one day from the minute he walked out in the suit at the opening press conference [7:58] introductory press conference he was stiff he was nervous you could just tell and after and who [8:04] wouldn't be given everything that was put out there on him and i i just think everything that he went [8:09] through broke him in some sort of way and that is that is before you even get to the physical side [8:14] of it the end we talked about yesterday and he alluded to it i told you yesterday that shoulder [8:19] injury that he had against baltimore uh was so rare and unique for among quarterbacks that i i think it [8:27] changed his career in terms of how he can throw the ball so because he's never been this he's never [8:32] been houston deshaun right but since the baltimore injury he has he hasn't been an nfl quarterback [8:38] he's not even an nfl quarterback like when we talked about before the dallas game when you're [8:42] missing guys by seven yards out of bounds that's division three stuff like so i just think for [8:48] the war that he has been through again self-inflicted but for everything he's been through emotionally [8:53] mentally physically i just think something broke it broke something inside of him and then when you [8:58] pile the injuries on top of it that's why i've said all summer like this is insane you're gonna tell [9:04] me he's gonna be starting like if you're gonna make me pick between deshaun and shador it is no [9:07] conversation it's shador every time because there's nothing there and the fact that they [9:12] refuse to admit that mistake and they keep that anchor on the roster baffles me it's it's it's [9:18] unbelievable that he's still here i think it's because jimmy haslam just however he's built in [9:24] my opinion he just refused to give up on an investment he wants to try for some but for whatever [9:30] reason he has to try to get something out of that investment and we talked about this yesterday and i [9:36] think that's the only reason why deshaun wasson is still here is because you make a 230 million [9:42] dollar investment and jimmy haslam is stubborn like most men are and it's one of those things [9:48] to where like you know what nope it's one more year if i can get any type of return on it let me get any [9:54] type of return but you're right he was broken spiritually broken emotionally broken deshaun wasson has always [10:00] came off as a guy who wanted people to embrace him wanted people to like him and you know i'm pretty [10:07] sure him and his camp thought coming to cleveland will give him a fresh start and opportunity to [10:12] rebirth in a sense and it never happened you know some people have planted their flag on where they [10:17] felt about deshaun wasson immediately and some of the comments he made or you know some of his actions [10:23] or inactions during that period of time it swayed people one way or another then of course the biggest [10:29] thing is you didn't perform on the football field right so you take all of that and you put that in [10:34] the pot and it seems like you know he just got to a point and he said this it got to a point to where [10:39] he became introverted he no longer wanted to be social you know he started paying attention of his [10:44] surroundings more being more aware of just the things he say to people that surround him things like [10:49] that because who constantly like you said we're humans who constantly wants to deal with you know [10:54] somebody always having something bad or negative to say about you it'll break anybody eventually and [10:59] and i think there's there's a silent part of every athlete in their in their heart and i i can just [11:06] remember after i mean i cried like a baby after i tore my second acl in like 12 months and it wasn't [11:13] because it hurt yeah it was uncomfortable but i already knew what the pain felt like because i did it on my [11:18] my right knee but the thing that hurt was knowing that i was never going to be the same the dream was [11:25] over like it was done it was in that moment you just know as a player yeah you can come back from [11:32] one acl but you play for a max school you had you had to outperform every metric you had to then go to [11:40] pro days and hopefully get to a combine and then actually show what you can do but guess what that that [11:46] ship has sailed now you got to deal with this next one and for me i felt somewhere in his mind i think [11:52] it really hit him this is i ain't that it's over after the shoulder and after the achilles the second [11:59] one he said i gotta remake who i am and it starts with rehabilitating me as the person because i'm [12:06] gonna have to live a long lot longer than whatever my career is and i think that was part of it and that [12:11] kind of plays into the answer he gave when he was asked about the swing and miss comment from jimmy [12:14] haslam and this is exactly what the sean said i'm going to read the question and then the answer [12:19] there's no graphic for this but here's the question and the answer the question is this [12:23] last year at the owners meeting jimmy haslam was talking about the struggles of the team and said [12:27] the trade for you was a big swing and miss and a couple months ago he said maybe you shouldn't have [12:31] used those exact comments did you hear those comments did you have any reaction and how would [12:35] you describe the nature of the relationship with the organization especially given how the last [12:39] couple of years have gone deshawn responded with i mean the relationship is great d and jimmy they [12:46] were at my wedding we talk all the time he calls me whenever you know things happen and things like [12:50] that happen one of my favorite baseball players that i've been watching is bryce harper sometimes he [12:55] swings but he stands back up and gets another opportunity and then he hits a home run so you [12:59] never know when that opportunity might show up and that's what i have right now that plays into what [13:05] you said g he understands it may have been a swing and a miss but this is his opportunity to step [13:10] back up there a lot of bryce harper hit a home run whatever that looks like we'll find out but [13:15] jason you alluded to the fact you like his answer to that comment too what about that response from [13:19] deshawn kind of stood out to you i just thought it was it was a great response and again that has [13:24] nothing to do with how he's going to perform on the field but i mean obviously he has no reason to [13:30] dislike jimmy haslam jimmy haslam gave him 230 million dollars why would you and still gave him he's [13:35] giving him a chance right yeah jimmy haslam is the reason he is able to rehabilitate his career [13:41] before before this most people would have said oh no no no he's got it he got to go he got to go [13:46] i've said for two years cut him cut him it's over and jimmy kept him on the roster and without him [13:52] keeping him on the roster think about it he would have never had a chance to have a conversation like [13:56] he did where people can say oh i like what he said right this is just a hypothetical but maybe it's [14:04] for every reason that we're talking about that doesn't have to do with the on-field play right [14:08] the haslam's are good people and i know everybody got their opinion with that i do agree they are [14:14] really really good people they care about their players they care about this community and they [14:19] especially d haslam believe in giving players a second opportunity so when we sit here and say well [14:25] that lebron should have cut deshaun watson and should have moved on from deshaun watson [14:28] from a football standpoint i think we can all agree it was time to move on and if jimmy haslam truly [14:34] wanted to he would have just ate the money and moved on from him but just maybe it's because of the [14:40] respect he has for him as a person or just whatever insight he has if i cut deshaun watson yeah forget the [14:48] football what what what impacts will this have on this young man when it comes to his life and i know a [14:55] lot of people watching this show can care less because of the things that he was accused of and [15:00] like you said he brought this stuff on himself but just maybe this is the haslam's giving him an [15:05] opportunity to rehabilitate his life and his career you talked about this last year you talked about it [15:12] show up be a good teammate keep your head down keep your mouth quiet do all the little things and even if [15:18] you don't get the opportunity here to be a starting quarterback the nfl is a tight-knit group word get [15:24] around how you conduct yourself how you handle yourself and just maybe somebody somewhere else [15:29] might give you an opportunity to make their roster let's let's not even talk about starting make their [15:35] roster and so just maybe the haslam's probably looked at this and like you know what let's let's [15:40] let's focus on the person not the player and if we keep him on this roster we can help him rehabilitate [15:47] his life uh i i disagree with everything you just said but that's fine like totally fine i don't think [15:54] you can operate your football team that way uh this isn't like listen they gave him 230 million [15:59] dollars they did everything they could for him the rest is up to him um and whatever uh there was [16:06] something else you said that i didn't i didn't agree with but but i i just i i think this is [16:11] deshaun's last year in the nfl i don't think any other team's given a chance this is probably like [16:15] who would even if he plays well do we still think he's going to play well it's not an impossibility [16:23] i don't think so but it's not an impossibility i think this is last year in the nfl if i think [16:28] i think if they would have cut him prior to this it would have 100 percent been his last possibility [16:33] right but if he's on the roster can continue to show that he can do certain things and maybe even [16:40] play well in certain spots maybe there's a hope for him being a backup somewhere who would sign him [16:47] and why hey listen hey that this that is a very good question and i'm not saying it's a hundred [16:52] percent i'm saying it's probably only 20 that happens but the fact that he's on the nl4 we all [16:59] know this if you go on the nl4 roster at least you get you got another shot yeah the thing that i could [17:06] go to kaepernick i can go to whoever's outside the league once once you sit out to the cam newtons [17:11] of the world once you sit and once you done and that's going to be the biggest question because [17:16] so jason said it very well could be or it can't be if deshaun watson was to you know produce at an [17:22] average level i think that will spark some team to want to give him a chance but i think the biggest [17:27] telltale will be the speed of the game once the pass come on once you do the joint practices once you [17:32] play some preseason games because the speed of the game was the issue for deshaun watson when he came [17:38] back the first time and as i alluded to earlier if he was to be the week one starter it would be [17:43] 693 days since he's last played as the starting quarterback for the cleveland browns by the time [17:48] you get to preseason you over 600 plus days so that would be the telltale of where is he when it comes [17:54] to speed of the game because if there's going to be a warm-up or a rev-up period then unfortunately [18:00] that don't align with what the cleveland browns say that they are trying to do this year [18:03] and they say they are trying to win and so if the speed of the game is too much [18:07] then you know what that might not appeal to other teams because this is a revolving door [18:12] and the average nfl career is three and a half years and he's been alone quite longer without [18:17] even actually playing so yeah from we go uh coming up next we go from one guy who we haven't heard [18:22] from in deshaun watson to another guy we haven't heard from in grant delpit but the question is is [18:28] we not hearing from him because it's an injury or he want that bag we'll come back and discuss it [18:34] right here on the ultimate cleveland sports show [18:36] you