HOUSTON – When the Houston Texans face the Cleveland Browns on Sunday in Cleveland, there will be some reunions between a couple of Browns players and the Texans. One of the most controversial meetings will be between Browns starting quarterback Deshaun Watson and his former team, which he helped get to the playoffs twice in his four seasons with the team, was selected to the Pro Bowl three times, and was the NFL passing-yards leader in 2020.
Watson’s exit from the team came from a requested trade after being dissatisfied with changes in the front office, paired with sexual assault and misconduct charges from 27 women, most of them massage therapists and estheticians.
The 27 lawsuits have either been settled, or grand juries declined to indict Watson, while he maintains he did nothing wrong. After missing the 2021 season while dealing with the accusations, Watson was traded to the Browns for three first-round draft picks.
The Texans packaged the 2023 first-round pick (No. 12 overall) in a trade up with the Arizona Cardinals to select Will Anderson Jr. at No. 3 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Will shared his excitement to face Watson this Sunday.
“It’s going to be a big challenge for us this week,” said Will. “We talked about it today in our team meeting. Then we talked about it in the defensive meeting, our defensive line meeting. We have to do a good job of closing the gate on him [Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson]. All four guys have to rush together. He’s a dynamic quarterback. Of course, watching him when he was at Clemson, here, he can move around in the pocket. He can step up to get out, step back, and come back inside the pocket and get out. I think it’s going to be all guys rushing together. No weak links, what we like to call it, and just being the engine.”
Will never got to play on the same team as Watson, but he did share a locker room with former tackle Tytus Howard, whom he is excited to line up against this weekend.
“Yeah, it’s going to be really fun,” said Will. “I have a ton of respect for him [Cleveland Browns T Tytus Howard]. I learned a lot from him. When he was here, he used to always coach me up, things that he’s seen in my game. He helped me get better. I’m excited to go against him. I was a rookie when he was here, so he’s taught me a lot. It’s going to be some junk talk, I’m pretty sure. But, no, it’s going to be exciting to go against him.”
The Browns and the Texans will kick off at Noon on Sunday at Huntington Bank Field, as the Texans look to improve their record to four wins and five losses.
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