New Cleveland Browns backup quarterback Jameis Winston spoke with reporters during his introductory video conference on Wednesday about how he plans to help starter Deshaun Watson ahead of what could become a make-or-break season for Watson.
“Throughout everyone’s life, they are given certain circumstances, conditions and facts,” Winston said, as shared by Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “But just because you’re presented with those things doesn’t mean that those things have to define you. So, the resilience and perseverance that Deshaun already possesses, I believe that we’re all going to be able to build and move forward through being the best person that we possibly can be, whether that’s on the field and off the field.”
The friendship between Winston and Watson goes all the way back to 2014, long before veteran Joe Flacco went 4-1 as a starter to guide the 2023 Browns to a playoff berth when Watson was sidelined with a season-ending shoulder injury.
Flacco was willing to return to the Browns as Watson’s primary backup, but it’s been speculated that individuals within the organization didn’t want Flacco’s popularity among fans to have any impact on the club’s QB1.
Additionally, Cabot previously mentioned how the Browns have routinely filled their quarterback room with players who have made Watson feel “comfortable” since the club acquired the 28-year-old from the Houston Texans in March 2022.
Winston missed the first three games of the 2018 season while serving a suspension regarding a groping allegation made by an Uber driver, while Watson was sidelined for the first 11 contests of the 2022 campaign because of a suspension related to numerous allegations of sexual misconduct during massage sessions.
Cabot wrote for Wednesday’s piece that the Browns “knew they’d suffer some backlash from acquiring another player with previous allegations of sexual misconduct” but “determined folks would soon see how [Winston will] be part of the solution” as it pertains to getting the best out of Watson.
“Being a father of a five-year-old and a three-year-old, you see them learning how to walk,” Winston added during his comments. “I think the walking process is one of the most amazing, amazing processes because people think that you just get up and you just start walking, but you have to fall down and you have to learn how to get your balance and you have to learn how to continue to grow and grow ’til you can walk with authority and walk with your head up high and experience the amazing things that life has to offer.”
Winston, 30, may need to be more than a mentor for Watson depending on how the 2017 first-round draft pick recovers from his shoulder issue. If the Watson-Winston duo fails to take Cleveland back to the postseason next January, the club’s front office could seriously consider moving on from both signal-callers less than 12 months from now.
