Cleveland Browns

DeShaun Watson Turns Down Cleveland Browns For Senior Bowl

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 1:48 a.m. ET

Fansided, Carl Cockerham/FanSided via With the First Pick

The Cleveland Browns wanted to spend Senior Bowl week with Deshaun Watson to evaluate him. So they invited the quarterback to the Senior Bowl but Watson turned them down. Some may think it’s a lost opportunity for Watson but is it?

Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson turned down an invitation to the Senior Bowl last week. Then comes this week and the Cleveland Browns want a closer look at him so they invited him to the game. Watson would have played for the South squad, coached by the Browns.

The Browns hold the No. 1 and 12 picks in the 2017 NFL Draft so this is an opportunity to impress. There are some that believe it is a wasted opportunity now that he has turned it down. But there is enough to evaluate already as he has been a top prospect for two years now.

Plus he is focused on preparing for the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine coming up. What Watson does there can sway a ton of votes of confidence from NFL organizations. A meaningless exhibition is not worth the risk of a potential injury.

This is a time that prospects don’t play in bowl games for their respective schools. Watson already grinded out 15 games this year and capped it off with a great performance in the National Championship Game. That should be his last memory of college football.

So he is right to turn the game down and focus on showing his physical skills at the combine. He’ll get much more out of that than he does playing in a game with people he doesn’t know. The Senior Bowl is for mid-to-late-round prospects that want to move up.

A guy that wasn’t on his way to getting drafted could also help himself in the game. The only way a top prospect could really help himself is if other top prospects played in the game. And even then, the risk of injury makes the Senior Bowl not worth it.