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Browns' Deshaun Watson sends strong message to critics ahead of pivotal season
Cleveland Browns starter Deshaun Watson left little doubt during mandatory minicamp that he knows exactly where he sits in certain quarterback power rankings heading into what could become a career-altering season for the 28-year-old.
Watson spoke with reporters at training camp on Friday and delivered quite a message to critics and doubters.
"Just being the best Deshaun Watson [I] can be for this team so we can get that ultimate goal. And maximizing my potential, my talent — that’s my motivation," Watson explained, as shared by Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. "I don’t have anything else that’s going to motivate me. I could give two f---- what other people say, to be honest."
Watson agreed to a fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract with Cleveland over two years ago but has since made just 12 regular-season starts. He missed the first 11 games of the 2022 season while serving a suspension related to allegations of sexual misconduct during massage sessions, and he then suffered a shoulder injury in his sixth game of the 2023 campaign.
"I think honestly it’s really just blocking out all the bull----, honestly, outside," Watson said about his altered mindset. "It was tough coming in two years [ago] — different environment, different team, different all that. So you come in and your character has been mentioned this way and then it kind of flips on you and you’re trying to... the biggest thing is you’re trying to get people to like you or improve."
The Browns replaced offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt with Ken Dorsey this offseason reportedly to have Dorsey "construct an offense that comforts Watson and maximizes his skill set." It's believed the club could explore ways to move on from Watson's contract this coming winter if that plan fails to produce positive results or he suffers yet another alarming physical setback.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed on Thursday that he'll once again serve as Cleveland's offensive play-caller this fall.
"But now, it’s like, at the end of the day, it’s two years in and you’re going to like me or you have your own opinions and, yeah, it is what it is," Watson continued. "So I think blocking out all the noise and focusing on me, and focusing on what I need to do to be the best Deshaun Watson I can be for myself, my family, and my teammates."
Physically speaking, Watson should be good to go for Cleveland's Week 1 game versus the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 8. While it's unknown what he will and won't be coming off his injury, it certainly sounds like his shoulder is carrying quite the chip this summer.
More must-reads:
- Kevin Stefanski to remain Browns’ offensive play-caller in 2024
- Browns Hoping To Get CB Greg Newsome Back By Week 1 After Hamstring Surgery
- The 'Cleveland Browns head coaches' quiz
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Commanders' Terry McLaurin reportedly wants more money than previously thought
Previous reports indicated that unsettled Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin was looking to land "parts" of the five-year, $150M contract that the Pittsburgh Steelers gave DK Metcalf earlier this year. For an article published on Wednesday morning, Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic offered an update regarding why McLaurin and the Commanders haven't come to terms on an extension after the 29-year-old requested a trade on July 31. "One person with knowledge of McLaurin’s contract negotiations said the veteran receiver has asked for more than DK Metcalf," Jhabvala revealed. McLaurin is in the final year of his current deal and will turn 30 years old in September. To compare, Metcalf will turn 28 in December. That said, McLaurin emerged last season as the favorite target for quarterback Jayden Daniels as Daniels guided the Commanders to the NFC Championship Game. "McLaurin believes he’s one of the best receivers in the NFL," Jhabvala added. "He’s been the Commanders' leading receiver every season since he entered the league (in 2019), and last year had the second-most receiving TDs in the league behind Ja’Marr Chase’s 17. He also ranked third in (expected points added) on targets and seventh in catch rate among receivers with at least 100 targets last year, but among that same group, McLaurin’s total receiving yards (1,096) ranked 12th and his average yards after the catch ranked 25th." Daniels seemed optimistic while speaking about the ongoing contract standoff during the ESPN broadcast of Monday's preseason game between the Commanders and Cincinnati Bengals when he said he knew McLaurin would "be coming through the door soon." However, Jhabvala noted that "it wouldn’t be a surprise if the [Commanders have] set a maximum range of $27M to $28M a year in average annual value for McLaurin." That seems to suggest the two sides aren't all that close to coming to terms on an agreement. It's unclear if McLaurin is willing to forfeit money by sitting out Washington's Week 1 game against the New York Giants on Sept. 7 amid his desire for a pay raise. If he isn't, he may have to soon accept the offer that's on the table to guarantee himself future earnings beyond the upcoming season.
'Look out for this dude': Former NFL exec has warning about unexpected SEC quarterback
Quarterbacks like Texas' Arch Manning, Clemson's Cade Klubnik and LSU's Garrett Nussmeier are getting all the hype as the 2025 college football season quickly approaches, but don't sleep on South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers. Sellers, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound redshirt sophomore from Florence, South Carolina, had an intriguing redshirt freshman season for the Gamecocks. So much so, that he very well could find himself listed among players like Manning, Klubnik and Nussmeier in the Heisman Trophy race by the end of this season. He's also the exact type of quarterback who will have NFL scouts raving. Louis Riddick is a former NFL player, scout and executive who is extremely high on Sellers heading into this season. He was recently on ESPN's "Get Up" and had many great things to say about South Carolina's young quarterback. “I’m just telling you, look out for this dude," Riddick said (h/t On3). "He can run. He has got a cannon. They have got a good program down there. He is everything that you’re looking for. Just look at some of this. Look how big this kid is. Look how fast and elusive he is.” Sellers is a classic dual-threat quarterback who fits the mold of a modern QB perfectly. Last season for the Gamecocks, he threw for 2,534 yards and 18 touchdowns (with seven interceptions) while rushing for 674 yards and seven touchdowns. Much like its quarterback, South Carolina is a bit under the radar in a stacked SEC, but head coach Shane Beamer went 9-4 last season, and his Gamecocks are ranked No. 13 in the preseason AP Top 25. South Carolina has a stretch in the middle of the season that will see it play consecutive games against No. 9 LSU, No. 18 Oklahoma, No. 8 Alabama, No. 21 Ole Miss and No. 19 Texas A M. Coastal Carolina is a respite on the schedule on Nov. 22, and the Gamecocks end their regular season against No. 4 Clemson. If the Gamecocks can pull off a few wins in that stretch, they very well could be a College Football Playoff team this season. In order to do that, though, they'll need Sellers to become a superstar, but listening to Riddick talk about the quarterback, it seems as if he's already on his way.
Tiger Woods unintentionally molded Scottie Scheffler into the best golfer in the world
Scottie Scheffler is the most dominant golfer we've seen since Tiger Woods in his prime, but he wasn't always at this level. It took Scheffler 73 starts before he finally won his first PGA Tour event at the 2022 WM Phoenix Open. Since then, he's rattled off 21 worldwide wins, and he has Woods to thank. Ahead of the 2025 Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club, Scheffler explained how playing with Woods in the final round of the 2020 Masters taught him a valuable lesson about what it takes to succeed on the PGA Tour. "The biggest change I felt like I made my first couple years on Tour to 2022 was the question always was, hey, how come you haven't won? The reason I felt like I hadn't won yet is I hadn't put myself in position enough times. I'd only played in a couple final groups. I always found myself just a little bit on the outside looking in, and that's one of the things I learned from playing with Tiger," Scheffler told reporters on Wednesday. "It was like, we're in 20th place or whatever going into Sunday at the Masters. Tiger has won five Masters; he's got no chance of winning the tournament. Then we showed up on the first hole and I was watching him read his putt, and I was like, 'Oh, my gosh, this guy is in it right now.'" Scheffler recalled how locked in Woods was in the final round despite being out of contention. He also mentioned how impressed he was when Woods birdied five of his last six holes after making a 10 on the par-3 12th. "I just admired the intensity that he brought to each round, and that's something that I try to emulate," Scheffler added. "It's not an easy thing to play a golf tournament. If I'm going to take a week off, I might as well just stay home. I'm not going to come out here to take a week off. If I'm playing in a tournament, I'm going to give it my all. That's really all it boils down to. "That was something that I just thought about for a long time. I felt like a change I needed to make was bringing that same intensity to each round and each shot … I think it's just the amount of consistency and the intensity that I bring to each round of golf is not taking shots off, not taking rounds off, not taking tournaments off." What used to be a weakness for Scheffler quickly became a superpower. The World No. 1 approaches every PGA Tour round like it's the final round of a major championship, and it shows in his consistency. Scheffler has played 72 competitive rounds this season. He's shot over par only seven times, and two of them came at the brutally tough U.S. Open in which only one player finished the tournament under par. Dating back to the Travelers Championship, he's shot in the 60s in 19 of his last 20 rounds. That level of consistency is nearly impossible to beat. The rest of the PGA Tour can't be happy that Woods gave Scheffler the secret sauce to dominating professional golf a few years ago.
Former Alabama QB has bold prediction for Kalen DeBoer, Ty Simpson
Greg McElroy may have a slight bias towards the Alabama Crimson Tide. He did play there, after all, and he helped the Tide with the 2010 BCS title game. So yes, the former Alabama quarterback turned ESPN commentator might be partial to the Crimson Tide, but he did make some good points recently when giving a prediction for the 2025 SEC Championship game on the "Always College Football" Podcast. McElroy predicts that in head coach Kalen DeBoer's second season, the Tide will make the SEC Championship game. He sees them facing off with Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns, though he does see Texas winning that game. “I just think with some of the youth that Texas has, particularly at quarterback, particular at wide receiver and some of the guys that will be rolling in on defense, they’re a little bit deeper and have a slightly higher ceiling than Alabama at this point," McElroy said (h/t On3). Losing the SEC Championship game would be disappointing in Tuscaloosa, but it is a step up from last season when DeBoer went 9-4 with an embarrassing 19-13 loss to Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl. Alabama being in the SEC title game would certainly mean that the Tide would be in the College Football Playoff conversation, and that's really the minimum standard in Tuscaloosa after Nick Saban brought six national championships home. For what it's worth, McElroy does think DeBoer has the pieces to be a contender this season, though, and it starts with newly named starting quarterback Ty Simpson. "I think Ty Simpson, their new starting quarterback, is a great fit for what Kalen DeBoer wants them to to be," McElroy explained. "He’s going to be a distributor, he’s going to get the ball out of his hands quickly, he’s going to make great decisions, he’s not going to put the defense in harm’s way by turning it over. I think Alabama is poised to make a run this year in a lot of different areas" A run to the SEC title game and CFP would be a huge step up for DeBoer in Year 2. Alabama fans will certainly be hoping that McElroy's bold prediction will come true.
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