cleveland browns head coach complain about the key player that…
The Browns have signed 10 total players to reserve/futures contracts since their season has come to a close. Those players are Jaelon Darden, Vincent Gray, John Kelly Jr., Zaire Mitchell-Paden, Justin Murray, Lonnie Phelps, Charlie Thomas III, Isaiah Thomas, Chris Williams, and Jayden Peevy.
A reserve/futures contract is a contract that any team can offer to any player who wasn’t on an active roster to end the previous season. The team is claiming the right to a player to join the 90-man roster heading into OTAs and training camp. A name who some Browns fans were expecting to see was Austin Watkins Jr., the wide receiver in Cleveland who led the NFL in receiving yards during the 2023 preseason with 257 yards through four games.
Watkins has been on the Browns practice squad all season, after an outstanding preseason. The Browns have indeed offered a reserve/futures contract to Watkins weeks ago and the team really wants him to remain in Cleveland, per source. In addition to the Browns, sources say Watkins has been offered “a bunch” of other reserve/futures deals from other teams around the league as well. Watkins and his camp are expected to take a little bit of time to evaluate each offer and eventually base a decision on the best team fit, as well as the variety of financial guarantees from each contract.
While sources say Watkins does get along with the Browns front office, there’s also a feeling that he wasn’t given a fair shot this season to showcase his abilities, especially after having the preseason that he did. Watkins, the 25-year-old receiver from Fort Myers, Florida, began his collegiate career at Dodge City Community College in Dodge City, Kansas.
After his sophomore season, Watkins committed to transfer to the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB). Watkins went on to play in only four games in his first season with the UAB before opting to redshirt. He then became a starter going into his redshirt junior season and was named to second-team All-Conference after catching 57 passes for 1,092 yards and six touchdowns. Then, in his last collegiate season, Watkins was named first-team All-Conference USA after his redshirt senior season after tallying 34 receptions for 468 yards with three touchdowns.
Watkins went undrafted in the 2021 NFL Draft and signed with the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent. After being waived and signing back to the practice squad, he eventually signed a reserve/futures contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After getting released by the Buccaneers, he didn’t get another opportunity in the NFL for a while After brief stints in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the United States Football League (USFL), Watkins was given another NFL opportunity, this time with the Browns.
Even after dominating the preseason, the Browns still released Watkins during roster cutdowns, cleared waivers and he then elected to sign back with the team’s practice squad. Now, Watkins is in the midst of making a decision on where he wants to continue his NFL journey next, whether that’s in Cleveland or elsewhere.
