Jadveon Clowney looking forward to Houston return with Deshaun Watson

On Dec 3, 2022

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, center, shares a laugh with defensive ends Jadeveon Clowney, left, and Myles Garrett, left center, during the NFL football team's football training camp in Berea on Monday.

BEREA — Jadeveon Clowney isn’t sure what kind of reaction the Houston Texans fans will have on Sunday. That’s not just for Deshaun Watson, either.

“I’m just looking forward to it,” the Browns defensive end said Friday. “I haven’t been back there either, so I’m looking forward to it and just getting it going, man. Being back in that building, being back in that facility, it’s going to be a change for me. I’m just looking forward to it. I’ve never been in the guest locker room so I’ll see how that looks.”

Watson has been the center of attention throughout the week leading into Sunday’s game in Houston. It’ll be the quarterback’s first start of the season for the Browns after his 11-game suspension, and it’ll come in the town where he spent five seasons after being the No. 12 pick in the 2017 draft.

However, it’s not just Watson who’ll be a former Texans first-round draft pick coming back to Houston. Clowney, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 draft, also spent five seasons in Houston before being acrimoniously traded away to Seattle prior to the 2019 season.

“It’s special because that’s the team that drafted me and first gave me an opportunity in the National Football League,” Clowney said. “Just looking forward to going back and trying to get another win for the team here.”

The only other time Clowney would have been back to Houston was on Jan. 3, 2021, during his one season with the Tennessee Titans. However, he was on injured reserve at the time and did not make the trip.

That day was also the last time Watson started a regular-season game. He sat out the following season in a dispute with the Texans, who then dealt him to the Browns on March 18.

Now, after serving a suspension for personal conduct policy violations in connection with sexual assault and sexual misconduct allegations from more than two dozen women, Watson will make his Browns regular-season debut. No one has been more vocal than Clowney about seeing the quarterback back on the field.

“It’s good,” Clowney said. “Big, big get up for our team, make us feel better having him back. A big leader for our team. It’s great to have him out there and give us a boost. We need another boost coming off a win, and him coming back is probably what we need right now and keep it rolling from last week.”

Clowney and Watson played two seasons together in Houston in 2017 and 2018. Those also coincided with two of Clowney’s three Pro Bowl seasons, while the 2018 season was one of three playoff seasons for him.

When Clowney re-signed with the Browns this past May, he made it clear that one of the biggest reasons why he did so was Watson. A big reason for that is because of what he saw during that time together, specifically Clowney’s last year in Houston when the Texans went to the playoffs.

“The last year I played with him he played well for us,” Clowney said of Watson. “He was in a great situation winning football games. I would just hope he can come back and do the same thing here. We still got a chance and that’s all you can ask for in this situation. One at a time, that’s all we can do to compete.”

It’ll have been 700 days since that January Sunday in 2021 when Watson made his final start for the Texans. A lot of time has passed by in that time, and a lot of opportunity for rust to develop.

However, Clowney doesn’t believe it’s had a major effect on Watson’s ability on the field.

“He’s a little bigger,” Clowney said. “He still can sling it. He’s accurate with the ball out there at practice. That’s all you can look for and hope it will roll over. I know he’s a little nervous, I bet. It’s been two years, a big let off from two years. But I feel like he’ll go out there and do his thing and what he’d been doing. He’s all right.”