Weather an issue in Browns’ negotiations with QB Watson
PALM BEACH, Fla. — A combination of rain, hail and wind pounded Firstenergy Stadium during the national anthem on Nov. 15, 2020, forcing kickoff to be delayed by 35 minutes before Deshaun Watson’s only game in Cleveland. Lightning was seen in the area. By the time the action began, the temperature was 51 degrees with winds at 26 mph. The Browns ultimately defeated the Houston Texans 10-7, with running back Nick Chubb providing the heroics and Watson finishing 20-of-30 passing for 163 yards and a touchdown with a rating of 91.4, well below his career rating of 104.5.
Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam blame Cleveland’s wild weather for Watson initially rejecting the team as it pursued a trade for the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback. Of course, Watson changed his mind a day later and waived the no-trade clause in his contract for the Browns, who gave him a record-setting five-year deal worth $230 million fully guaranteed.
Watson is from Gainesville, Georgia, and played at Clemson. With the Texans, home games were at NRG Stadium, which features a retractable roof.
“When we bought the Browns [in 2012],” Jimmy Haslam said, “I called Dee and I said, ‘It’s the Cleveland Browns.’ She goes, ‘If you grew up in the South, Cleveland seems like a different world.‘
“The only time [Watson has played in] Cleveland, do you remember the weather? It wasn’t exactly a chamber of commerce day, right?’”
Dee Haslam described the conditions that day as “awful,” adding the Browns “talked about that a lot” when they met with Watson on March 15 in Houston.
The Browns had to become comfortable with the serious allegations hanging over Watson.
He faces 22 active lawsuits from women accusing him of sexual misconduct or sexual assault during massage appointments.
On the other hand, Watson had to become comfortable enough with the
Browns to pick them over the Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers.
The Haslams, general manager Andrew Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski attended the meeting with Watson and made their pitch.
“I mean, it was very engaging the whole time,” Jimmy Haslam said. “Kevin started out going through here’s how we’d use you. Andrew talked about our team. Dee and I would ask questions. Mainly the football guys asked the questions, but it was a great give-and-take session with Deshaun. The attorneys were there, you might say some, but it was really Deshaun getting to know us and us getting to know him. I mean, it’s an interview. Let’s face it. He’s interviewing us. We’re interviewing him.”
The Browns were at an obvious disadvantage against their competitors when it came to the weather. Jimmy Haslam said the Cleveland contingent sold Watson on the roster’s young core.
As Jimmy Haslam recalled advertising the team’s top young players to Watson, the owner rattled off the following by name in this order: defensive end Myles Garrett, linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-koramoah, cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome II, safety John
Johnson III, Chubb and fellow running back Kareem Hunt, wide receiver Amari Cooper and tight ends David Njoku and Harrison Bryant.
“We’ve got an offensive line intact,” Jimmy Haslam said. “... We have the nucleus of a good team. It still comes down to you’ve got keep everybody healthy, and you’ve got to get good quarterback play. Nobody ever stays healthy, but you’ve got to stay reasonably healthy.”
Dee Haslam sensed the Browns established a good connection with Watson while recruiting him.
“You could tell by his body language,” she said.
Yet the Cleveland weather was a hurdle, especially because Watson encountered a particularly nasty day on the lakefront.
“So he’s thinking, ‘How am I going to play in that?’ ” Dee Haslam said.
“Yeah, I’m a quarterback. I want to throw the ball 40 times,” Jimmy Haslam added. “So being away from his mom, who he’s really close to; and his siblings all lived in Gainesville; growing up in the South, which we can relate to; and then his only experience being that, we had a little bit to overcome. Check that — a lot to overcome.”