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During the first half of the Cleveland Browns’ 33-17 loss to the Houston Texans, CBS broadcast team Andrew Catalon and James Lofton starting talking about Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson and his pre-draft relationship with Browns head coach Hue Jackson. Take a listen:
Here is the CBS story on Deshaun Watson getting “be ready” text from #Browns head coach Hue Jackson before draft pic.twitter.com/j6IyLZFx1X
— Keith Britton (@KeithBritton86) October 15, 2017
Here is what Catalon relayed:
“We asked Watson about [the trade] after practice on Friday. He said he woke up draft day and had no idea where he was going to go. He got a text from Hue Jackson and it said, ‘be ready.’ He thought that was a sign that maybe the Browns were interested.
The pick comes to No. 12, and he knew that at No. 13, Arizona had told him that if no one takes you by the time we pick at No. 13, we're taking you. At No. 12, with the Browns on the clock, he thought 'maybe this was it.' He looked up at the TV screen and it said 'the pick has been traded to Houston.' He immediately looked down at his phone, and it was ringing -- a Houston area code.”
That makes two players that Jackson has now reportedly wanted at No. 12 — Watson and Colts safety Malik Hooker — only to have the front office deal the pick for more draft assets. After Sunday’s game, Jackson was asked about the story, and he denied ever sending such a text the day of the draft:
In Watson’s post-game press conference, he was also asked about Jackson’s text message, and he corroborated the story that the CBS announcers had told on the broadcast (thanks to Mary Kay Cabot for the transcription):
"Correct. Me and Hue during the draft process communicated, they were a team that was big on me, brought me in, worked me out, met with me, phone calls throughout the weeks and building a relationship, building a friendship. ... I didn't know where I was going to go, but at the end of the day, God put me here with Houston and Hue texted me that morning and just said, 'Be ready, anything can happen.' They took the picks they wanted to take and I belong with this situation and this organization, but the relationship and friendship will always continue.''
Someone has their story mixed up.