Deshaun Watson appears to be enjoying his time away from the Cleveland Browns as he recovers from an Achilles injury.
A social media post from Watson went viral on Monday, sparking backlash from Browns fans. The post featured Watson appearing to be on vacation, spending time with his girlfriend, Jilly Anais.
“Deshaun Watson enjoying life with his girlfriend Jilly Anais in Los Angeles. $230 million never looked better,” NFL aggregator Dov Kleiman posted along with the video from Watson’s Instagram.
Everyone deserves to enjoy themselves, but fans weren’t thrilled about Watson being so public with his good times given his current situation with the Browns.
Watson signed a fully guaranteed $230 million contract in 2022 after being traded to the Browns in a high-profile deal. Since then, he has played in just 19 games, tallying 3,365 passing yards, 19 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions, with a 9-10 record as a starter.
His struggles to meet expectations have raised questions about his ability to remain Cleveland’s franchise quarterback. And his disconnection from the team as he recovers speaks volumes.
“Dude don’t care about football anymore,” one fan said.
Another added: “Lol the Browns are the dumbest franchise in the history of professional sports.”
Others didn’t mind seeing Watson away from the locker room.
“So tired of the Deshaun Watson conversation on here. We’re 3-10 and likely heading for the start of another multi-year rebuild,” a fan said. “(I don’t care) if our former starting QB isn’t in the locker room. Quite frankly I hope he never steps foot in it again.”
Deshaun Watson Recently Visited Browns
Watson has been out since October 20, when he suffered a season-ending Achilles rupture. He had surgery at the end of October and has not been around the team much since. However, he did visit the Browns recently, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.
“Watson made a brief appearance in the Browns locker room last week in his boot and on crutches as he rehabs from surgery to repair his ruptured Achilles,” Cabot said. “Watson said he feels good and that his rehab is going well, but declined to talk beyond that.
“A source said that Watson’s recovery is going great, and that he expects to be back with the Browns next season. If all goes well, he should be able to practice by the start of training camp at the end of July.”
Deshaun Watson’s Future as Browns’ Starter is Uncertain
Watson is under contract for the next two years at $46 million a year. However, he will count $73 million against the cap each year, significantly hampering the Browns’ roster-building efforts. Cutting Watson would lead to a historic amount of dead cap.
The Browns are set to explore all possible avenues this offseason to address their quarterback situation. Options on the table include pursuing an affordable free-agent signing, targeting a prospect in the NFL Draft, or retaining Jameis Winston, who has stepped in as the starter for all six games since Watson’s injury.
It appears very unlikely that Watson will be given the starting role when he returns.
“Our focus with Deshaun — I would say for any player with a season-ending injury and a major injury — is first and foremost with the recovery and to make sure that he gets healthy from the Achilles injury,” Browns general manager Andrew Berry said on Nov. 6. “Everything else we’ll deal with at a later moment.”
Watson struggled this season, going 1-6 as the starter for the Browns. In those games, the offense failed to break the 20-point mark even once, and Watson never threw for more than 200 yards.
