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Two weeks ago, on a Friday afternoon similar to this one, the Houston Texans finalized their trade of Deshaun Watson to the Cleveland Brows. Three first round picks, the exchange of mid-round selections here and there, $230 million guaranteed, and Watson became a Brown. After all of, Cal McNair’s lied, the trade request, the sexual assault allegations, the healthy scratches, and the grand jury, Watson leveraged his no-trade clause to land in Cleveland, of all places and situations, Deshaun Watson is a Cleveland Brown.
Today, Watson, along with GM Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski, spoke to the media about the trade. You can watch the entire press conference below:
If you don’t have the time to sit here for 40 minutes, our good friend Rivers McCown has the highlights.
Watson discusses being a servant leader:
Watson opening statement mentions servant leadership. pic.twitter.com/g0luaEHOcj
— Rivers McCown (@riversmccown) March 25, 2022
Watson: "I'm hard-working, servant leader, who loves to be social ... I've always been hands on in the community of Houston ... and that's what I want to do, is be able to get back to that brand, or get back to that person that people knew I was before all these allegations." pic.twitter.com/9IuhKh6IcB
— Rivers McCown (@riversmccown) March 25, 2022
Why he requested a trade to leave Houston:
Watson on leaving Texans: "We just both were going in different directions ... led to the whole big situation ... it's hard to get too far into the details ... time for both of us to part ways." pic.twitter.com/egZFPxrtMC
— Rivers McCown (@riversmccown) March 25, 2022
Addressing the allegations themselves in a variety of ways:
Watson asked why he should be believed instead of more than 20 women. pic.twitter.com/p9ruYSW1uc
— Rivers McCown (@riversmccown) March 25, 2022
Watson on idea of counseling: "It's hard for me to say the counseling part, because I don't have a problem, you know, I don't have an issue, and that's what I've been saying from the beginning ... like I said before, I never assaulted anyone, never disrespected anyone..." pic.twitter.com/sNhKQHcbTu
— Rivers McCown (@riversmccown) March 25, 2022
Watson: "I don't have any regrets. The things that are off the field right now that came up, caught me by surprise." pic.twitter.com/oFbxwEKXYm
— Rivers McCown (@riversmccown) March 25, 2022
Andrew Berry answered the question about the backlash the franchise is facing after making the Watson trade:
Browns GM Andrew Berry asked about people who say they can't root for the Browns anymore ... takes him a bit to formulate the response. pic.twitter.com/ylGQIGSQP4
— Rivers McCown (@riversmccown) March 25, 2022
It was a vague press conference full of generalities that didn’t tell us much. One would like to think that one day we will know the exact truth. Did Watson commit the acts he was accused of? Why did he really request the trade? Could the Texans have done anything to keep him in Houston? The answer is that we may never know.
The Browns are going to be really good with Watson. He’s going to play great, and all of this is going to be forgotten once the games begin. The City of Houston will continue to hate him for leaving, though the allegations that he committed multiple acts of sexual assault have surely made his departure a welcome result for many who root for the Texans.
Deshaun Watson is no longer a Houston Texan. Deshaun Watson is officially a Cleveland Brown.
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