Deshaun Watson

Derrick Deshaun Watson (born September 14, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL).

Watson was born in Gainesville, Georgia, on September 14, 1995, to Deann Watson and Don Richardson.

He attended Gainesville High School from the fall of 2010 and played for the school's Red Elephants football team.

Gainesville head coach Bruce Miller had planned to start a rising junior at quarterback to execute his spread offense, but Watson won the starting spot, becoming Miller's first-ever freshman starting quarterback.

During his high-school career, Watson set numerous state records, including those for total yards (17,134), total touchdowns (218), career passing yards (13,077) and career passing touchdowns (155).

He rushed for 4,057 yards and 63 touchdowns.

Watson threw for 289 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 131 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Tigers to a 45–37 win, Clemson's first ACC championship since 2011.

Watson was also named the ACC Championship Game MVP.

Watson received offers from numerous colleges before verbally committing to Clemson University on February 1, 2012.

Watson excelled in his junior year, winning a state championship and earning accolades such as Junior All-American, 2014 Player to Watch and 2014 Top 100 Recruit.

During his sophomore and senior years, Watson led Gainesville to the state semifinals.

He was ranked as the top quarterback recruit for the 2014 class by ESPN 300.

Watson enrolled at Clemson in January 2014.

During his high-school career, Watson had worn #4, but at Clemson, that number had been retired after quarterback Steve Fuller graduated.

However, Fuller allowed Watson to wear the number.

Watson entered his true freshman season as the backup to starter Cole Stoudt, but still received extensive playing time.

Through three games, he completed 29 of 41 passes for 479 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions, outperforming Stoudt.

Watson was named the Tigers' starter on September 21.

In Watson's first career start against the North Carolina Tar Heels, he set a school record with six touchdown passes and threw for 435 yards en route to a 50–35 victory.

On October 11, 2014, Watson broke a bone in his right hand in the first quarter of a game against the Louisville Cardinals.

As a result of the injury, he missed games against Boston College, Syracuse and Wake Forest.

He returned for a game against Georgia Tech only to suffer an LCL strain, missing most of the game.

He did not play against Georgia State the following week, but led Clemson to a victory over state rival South Carolina the following week.

It was revealed that Watson had played the game with a torn ACL in his left knee.

He underwent surgery the Friday before Clemson's bowl game against Oklahoma.

In 2015, Watson led Clemson to an undefeated 12–0 regular season and a #1 ranking in the polls.

After the regular season, the Tigers qualified for the ACC Championship Game, facing off against #10 North Carolina.

He played college football for the Clemson Tigers, leading the team to a national championship in 2016.

The Tigers were selected to participate in the 2016 College Football Playoff as the #1 seed.

They faced the #4 seed Oklahoma Sooners in the Orange Bowl, one of the two College Football Playoff semifinal games.

Watson threw for 189 yards and a touchdown and ran for 145 yards and a touchdown as he led Clemson to a 37–17 victory, earning game MVP honors.

With the win, the Tigers advanced to the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship game against the #2 Alabama Crimson Tide, but Clemson lost 45–40.

Watson threw for 405 yards and four touchdowns in the game and ran for 73 yards in the losing effort, though he surpassed the 4,000-yard passing mark.

Watson was selected in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans.

After having a productive rookie season cut short by injury, Watson guided the Texans to consecutive division titles in 2018 and 2019 and led the league in passing yards in 2020.

He also received Pro Bowl honors in each of his three seasons as Houston's primary starter.

As of January 2024, he is ninth in career completion percentage (minimum 1,500 attempts) and is third in all-time career passer rating.

In 2021, Watson was sued by more than two dozen female massage therapists for sexual harassment and sexual assault.

Watson has denied any wrongdoing while settling 20 claims of sexual misconduct.

Disagreements with the Texans' front office and multiple sexual-misconduct lawsuits kept Watson out for the entire 2021 season and eventually led to a trade to the Browns in 2022, where he signed a five-year contract worth $230 million, one of the largest contracts in NFL history.