CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Jadeveon Clowney gave the Browns a big assist in recruiting Deshaun Watson.
And they can thank Watson for Clowney returning for a second season.
“I was all about where my boy Deshaun was going,” Clowney said Thursday following the final minicamp practice.
“When I talked to them, I said, ‘I played with him, he kept us off the field a lot.’ I was like, ‘I know you’re going to keep us off the field, you put up a lot of points, put us in rushing situations instead of having to stop the run all the time.’ I just wanted to go play with him and see what I can do with him again.”
While Watson was narrowing down potential destinations, Clowney helped sell his former Texans teammate on the Browns.
“I talked to him a few times before he signed, after he signed. We stayed in touch through that whole thing about coming here,” Clowney said. “If he come, then I come. I told him if he goes, I'll follow him up here.
I'll go back. That's what it came down to.”
Clowney admitted if Watson had ended up in Atlanta, there was a good chance he was right behind him.
“I probably would have followed him there,” Clowney said. “But who knows? He ended up here. We’re here now. That’s over with. Let’s go. We’re chasing it now.”
One wrinkle in Clowney’s plan is the fact Watson could be facing a suspension for part of or the entire season.
“That’s all right. We’ve got a good defense, we can hold it together,” Clowney said. “We did good last year and we were banged up on offense all over the place and our defense played well for what we had going on. We’ve got the same defense back, couple additional pieces. We’re going to be all right.”
Clowney has not talked at length with Watson about the soon to be 26 pending lawsuits against him alleging sexual misconduct during massage therapy sessions.
“That’s his personal biz, I don’t get into that,” Clowney said. “Only football. I think there’s enough out here in the world going on, I don’t even have to ask him what’s going on. They put it all out there, so I try not to ask him. I’m sure he don’t want to talk about it.”
On the field, Clowney feels Watson has been handling things well.
“That’s a lot of pressure,” Clowney said. “I told him that’s a lot of pressure for what he’s dealing with, but for him to just handle the situation the way he’s doing, I think he’s doing a good job. He doesn’t say much. He comes in here and works every day, he doesn’t let it bother him mess up his job, to work. He’s dealing with it well. I hope he just keeps doing it, take care of what he’s doing. Hope the best for my quarterback.”