The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Jackson revises story on text exchange
Browns head coach Hue Jackson on Oct. 16 had a different recollection of his text exchange with Deshaun Watson than the version he told reporters a day earlier in the wake of the 33-17 loss in Houston.
The story erupted during the CBS telecast when play-by-play announcer Andrew Catalon revealed Watson received the text message “Be ready” from Jackson the morning of the first round of the 2017 draft. Watson informed Catalon and the CBS crew of the text from Jackson during a routine production meeting the night before the game.
The implication was Jackson was telling Watson to get ready to be drafted by the Browns with the 12th pick. Instead, the Browns traded the pick to Houston. The Texans drafted Watson, who is rewriting the record books for rookie quarterbacks.
“I don’t recall a text message to Deshaun on the day of the draft saying to him that we would draft him, and I think he made that very clear,” Jackson said during a conference call. “If I texted him and said, ‘Get ready,’ or whatever it is that everybody is saying I said, it probably was ‘Be ready for the draft,’ and not to become… I think he said that very clearly. I think we’re making more of this than what it is.”
Jackson in his post-game news conference denied sending the alleged text.
“I know I did not send that text on draft day,” Jackson told reporters.
Watson never did tell the CBS crew the text said from Jackson said the Browns were planning to draft him. That decision is out of Jackson’s hands. Still, Watson thought it was a possibility.
“Me and Hue, during the draft process, kind of communicated,” Watson said in Houston. “They were a team that was big on me, brought me in, worked me out, met with me, phone calls throughout the weeks and just kind of building a relationship, building a friendship.”
Jackson’s softer version on Oct. 16 doesn’t change the facts. The Texans have Watson. The Browns have safety Jabrill Peppers (picked 25th with the pick that belonged to Houston) and the Texans’ first-round pick next year. The Browns chose quarterback DeShone Kizer 52nd. He has thrown three touchdown passes and nine interceptions. Watson has 15 touchdown passes and has thrown five picks.