Colorado Buffaloes football coach Deion Sanders is being credited with inspiring Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson to take Coach Prime’s youngest son, Shedeur, under his wing in the NFL.
Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot claimed that Deion’s support for Watson after his season-ending Achilles tear in 2024 was a favor that the 29-year-old feels needed paying back, hence helping the “Grown QB” in Berea.
“Watson, famously dubbed a 'big swing and a miss' by Browns owner Jimmy Haslam at the NFL Annual Meetings in March, has also taken Sanders under his wing to help him come up the learning curve quickly, and it’s been working. Sanders’ Hall of Fame dad, Deion, publicly supported Watson when some Browns fans cheered while he was down on the field in tears with his retorn Achilles Oct. 20 against the Bengals, and Watson is only too happy to repay the favor,” Cabot wrote.
As Cabot mentioned, Watson has done the same with Dillon Gabriel, but that’s not the point of the story being leaked.
After Sanders’ recent speeding tickets, someone in Cleveland is planting the seed that Watson’s influence may be creeping in.
Watson is already damaged goods whose apologies most won't accept. But Sanders could be redeemed from his reckless vehicular behavior and the narrative damage it caused at just 23 years old.
Watson serving as Sanders and Gabriel’s mentor can change. And Browns fans may accept that write-off of Shedeur’s off-field issues.
This isn’t to say the story isn’t real. Not by any stretch.
Watson needs to rehab his image after a litany of sexual assault and harassment allegations, and most certainly appreciated Coach Prime being in his corner following his Achilles tear.
But Sanders being linked to Watson right now takes a bit of the heat off the “Grown QB” when needed most.
Perhaps Coach Prime’s NFL connections, connections he has boasted about, are at work as we speak.