Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James joined Browns quarterback Jameis Winston and defensive end Myles Garrett on Sunday night in calling out Cleveland fans for their response to signal-caller Deshaun Watson suffering a serious leg injury in Week 7.
James doesn’t go as far as Garrett and Winston went in praising the beleaguered quarterback and he even seemed to hint at Watson’s off-the-field problems by alluding to the “good, bad and indifferent.” King James wouldn’t accept the fans’ reaction to the three-time Pro Bowler’s likely season-ending Achilles ailment, however.
Browns fans cheered loudly as Watson departed Sunday’s 21-14 defeat against the Cincinnati Bengals on a cart late in the second quarter.
The injury is expected to end Watson’s third season in Cleveland, in what has been a disastrous tenure thus far.
The Clemson product made three consecutive Pro Bowls with the Houston Texans from 2018-20 while missing just one game. Watson then missed the entire 2021 campaign and was traded amid his sexual assault and sexual harassment scandal involving more than two dozen female massage therapists. He then signed a fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract with the Browns (the largest in NFL history).
He served an 11-game suspension to start the 2022 season and has looked nothing like his former Pro Bowl self since then.
He played six contests in 2022 following the suspension and six games last year after battling multiple injuries before finally being shut down for the season in November.
If Watson’s 2024 campaign is indeed done, he ends it with the worst QBR in the NFL (23.4), while taking a league-high 33 sacks.
