Myles Garrett, Jameis Winston criticized for defending DeShaun Watson's character after injury draws cheers

In the second quarter of the Cleveland Browns’ 21-14 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, quarterback DeShaun Watson was carted off the field after suffering a non-contact Achilles tendon injury. As Watson was carted off the field, Browns fans sarcastically rained down cheers.

With the loss on Sunday, the Browns’ record dropped to 1-6 on the season. Watson has been one of the main reasons for the Browns’ shortcomings, only completing 63.3% of his passes for five touchdowns and three interceptions this season.

After the game, Watson’s teammates, Myles Garrett and Jameis Winston, scolded the fans for cheering at Watson’s plight. However, due to the off-field allegations that Watson has faced, not everybody is convinced he deserves the respect of fans around the league.

On Monday, Breakfast Ball host Danny Parkins tore into Garrett and Winston for defending Watson from the fans and, further, clarified why he believes the fans were cheering.

“This whole thing and the reaction to it was embarrassing by Myles Garrett, by Jameis Winston, by fans, by media — I thought no one did their job yesterday,” Parkins said. “This is not complicated. DeShaun Watson was booed when he came onto the field before the game. Brown fans are not happy with DeShaun Watson because he’s been the worst quarterback in football.

“They are not taking some sort of moral stand against DeShaun Watson’s indiscretions off the field, which, make no mistake, it’s 20-plus allegations of sexual assault and misconduct, and 20-plus settlements of sexual assault and misconduct.”

Watson has been the subject of dozens of lawsuits from women claiming he sexually assaulted or harassed them. While Watson has upheld his innocence among the claims, he’s made over 20 settlements in the face of these accusations.

In 2022, the NFL leveled an 11-game suspension and a $5 million fine on Watson for the off-field issues. Moreover, they made Watson receive counseling. In light of so many accusations, Parkins believes it’s ridiculous for Watson’s teammates to attempt to defend his character.

“For Myles Garrett to come out and be like, ‘He’s been a model citizen for all of college and most of the time in the pros,’ most is doing some heavy lifting there, Myles, because it hasn’t been all of his time in the pros,” Parkins said.

“Jameis Winston, ‘He put his life on the line.’ No, he isn’t. He’s playing football. I get that players do not want cheers or boos for an injured player. It’s totally understandable for teammates to be upset when fans react that way.

“But the media coming out and being like, ‘Oh my God, Jameis Winston’s words were so powerful.’ No, they weren’t. Defending DeShaun Watson as a guy is ridiculous… We gotta not make DeShaun Watson into a victim here and a martyr like those guys were doing when there are actual victims in this story.”