Deshaun Watson is from Georgia, played college football in South Carolina and has spent his NFL career in Texas.
Suffice it to say he is a warm-weather player. And, yes, that apparently will be a factor he considers for his next destination.
Watson, who will not face criminal charges for allegations of sexual misconduct, has been fielding meetings from four different teams this week: the Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers.
One of those teams is not like the others.
Atlanta and New Orleans play in domes, while the weather in Charlotte is mild for much of the NFL season. Cleveland, meanwhile, has simply brutal weather for a substantial chunk of the season. And even if the Browns represent a fit in most other ways for Watson, Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot shared Thursday on 92.3 The Fan that weather is going to be a factor for him.
"Even though I feel like the Browns are still in it and I do have that gut feeling that – I know that they made a great and compelling presentation – having said that, I keep hearing that he doesn’t want to play in cold weather," Cabot said on "The Ken Carman Show with Anthony Lima". "He still has that 10-7 game in his mind and thinking that there will be a lot more of them in the AFC North."
Cabot pointed out that it’s not just Cleveland, either. In the AFC North he will have road games in Cincinnati, Baltimore and Pittsburgh, so there would be little reprieve from the elements.
It’s unclear how big of a factor the weather ultimately is for Watson. If it’s even remotely significant, that will really, really hurt the Browns’ chances.
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