Much-maligned Cleveland Browns quarterback DeShaun Watson has taken rookie Shedeur Sanders “under his wing,” according to a team insider.
Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot reports that Watson, who will miss most if not all of the 2025 season after rerupturing his Achilles tendon, has been a “cheerleader” for Sanders, along with rookie Dillon Gabriel, Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett.
“He’s been a guy I’ve connected with as well, and he’s actually a guy I sit by in our O-line meetings, even in our offensive unit meetings,” Gabriel told Cabot about Watson’s influence. “So just being able to be around him and nudge him and ask a question, whether it’s for confirmation or his thought, but also when we’re talking through concepts, I think it’s super cool that we do have five guys in the room that kind of can speak to their own experience.”
Gabriel added that Watson’s red zone insights have been particularly valuable.
The Browns traded for Watson before the 2022 season despite two dozen sexual misconduct allegations by massage therapists during his time with the Houston Texans. Cleveland then signed him to a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract.
The results have been disastrous. Watson has played just 19 games across three seasons due to suspension and injuries, going 9-10 overall and 1-6 in 2024 before suffering the Achilles injury. Browns fans cheered as he cried on the field. He’s thrown for 3,365 yards, 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while taking 70 sacks.
Deion Sanders publicly supported Watson after the injury, and Watson was “only too happy to repay the favor” in helping Shedeur, according to Cabot. The franchise has “been thrilled with his participation and mentorship.”
It’s a different view of Watson than Browns owner Jimmy Haslam recently expressed, calling the quarterback acquisition a “big swing and a miss.”
Shedeur Sanders has faced his own issues in Cleveland. He was cited twice in June for speeding and failed to appear in court for one citation.
Once considered a top quarterback prospect entering the 2025 NFL Draft, Sanders fell to the fifth round before Cleveland selected him — two rounds after the Browns drafted Gabriel.
Matt Higgins worked in national and local news for 15 years. He started out as an overnight production assistant ... More about Matt Higgins