Jameis Winston said he started following and encouraging Deshaun Watson after a 2014 game between Florida State and Clemson. Winston did not play because of a suspension.
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984
Takeaways from Jameis Winston and other Brownie bits …
It was apparent in Jameis Winston’s introductory Zoom conference that the Browns chose him to be Deshaun Watson’s backup for reasons other than what he brings to the field.
Like Watson, Winston, 30, has had his share of controversial off-the-field incidents. He not only has overcome them but also has grown from them.
In his first comments upon signing a 1-year contract on Wednesday, Winston spoke eloquently of being a supporter and spiritual mentor to Watson.
“I’m a man of faith and God,” Winston said. “So, I know it is not only a passion of mine to lead and to impact those around me, but I feel like it’s a privilege when I’m provided with an opportunity. I tend not to look ahead of me and tend to look behind me. I tend to focus on the now.
“So, I’m so excited to work with this young man and allow him, help him, be what he is capable of being, and that’s being one of the best quarterbacks in this league.”
Winston said their paths first crossed in 2014 when Watson was a freshman and his Clemson team played Winston’s Florida State. Winston was on the sideline for the game serving a suspension for shouting “vulgar and offensive” obscenities in the campus student union earlier in the week.
Winston said that after meeting Watson, he followed him from afar and “always encouraged him, shot him Instagram messages every now and then about being proud of him and continuing to persevere, and we just kind of stayed in contact that way.”
“The biggest thing about this relationship is not only is this going to be an incredible relationship, because me and him have both had a lot of success throughout our football career, but it’s going to be a relatable experience with us both being African American quarterbacks out of the deep south, right. So I’ve experienced some of the certain things that he’s experienced throughout his career, which allows him to be able to depend on me or to lean on me to different specific avenues that he might want to pursue or any questions that he might have.
“But one of the biggest things that I’m bringing to Deshaun is just really support and encouragement because he has achieved so much, and that’s why he is this organization’s franchise quarterback.”
Watson hasn’t been able to rediscover his former self since joining the Browns in 2022 after allegations of sexual misconduct that resulted in an 11-game NFL suspension for violations of the league personal conduct policy. Two shoulder injuries reduced him to five games and one quarter in 2023 and resulted in season-ending surgery in November.
Winston acknowledged his past transgressions, which included his own personal conduct violation in 2018 with Tampa Bay for allegedly groping a female Uber drive.
He said his life changed four years ago when he married “my high school sweetheart.” They have two children.
“Yes, throughout everyone’s life, they are given certain circumstances, conditions and facts,” he said. “But just because you are presented with those things doesn’t mean that those things have to define you, so the resilience and perseverance that Deshaun already possesses, I believe that we’re all going to be able to build and move forward through being the best person that we possibly can be, whether that’s on the field and off the field.
“I just know that some of the things that we all go through are necessary. It’s necessary for our individual growth. It’s necessary for us to learn so we can be able to apply it in a better way.
“You have to learn how to continue to grow and grow until you can walk with authority and walk with your head up high and experience the amazing things that life has to offer.”
Brownie bits
The Browns reportedly agreed to terms with running back D’Onta Foreman, who has played with four teams in six years, most recently the Bears. Foreman, who turns 28 in April, began his NFL career as a teammate of Watson’s in Houston in 2017. In 2022, Foreman played in Carolina, whose running back coach was Duce Staley, who takes over in that role for the Browns. Foreman has a 4.2-yard rushing average and 14 touchdowns in his career. With Nick Chubb recovering from two surgeries on his left knee, Foreman rounds out a committee of backs that includes Jerome Ford, Pierre Strong and recently acquired Nyheim Hines …
The Browns confirmed the signing of free agent quarterback Tyler Huntley. The former Baltimore Ravens joins Watson, Winston and Dorian Thompson-Robinson in a radically changed quarterbacks room.