CARDS: Panini Contenders 2017, Panini Contenders 2017 Gameday Tickets, Panini Immaculate 2020 Certified (07/15)
ACQUIRED: TTM 2018, C/o The Houston Texans. TTM 2020, C/o Home
EBay, 2024
SENT: 4/14/18 RECEIVED: 10/20/18 (189 days)
SENT: 4/23/20 RECEIVED: 5/18/20 (25 days)
<WARNING: GHOST SIGNED OR STAMPED TTM>
CAREER SNAPSHOT:
- Deshaun Watson played QB for Clemson from 2014-’16.
- He was a revelation for the school leading the conference in passing in both 2015 and ’16.
- Ran for 1105 yards in his sophomore year as well, scoring 12 TDs.
- Won the National Title, going 388 of 579, with 4593 yards, and 41 TDs in 2016.
- Declared for the 2017 NFL Draft and was the 12th overall selection of the Houston Texans, who traded up to get him after Patrick Mahomes went off the board to the Kansas City Chiefs.
- Initially was the backup for Tom Savage, but after Savage was injured in the first game against Jacksonville, Watson took over as starter.
- Won his first start against a heavily favored Cincinnati team where he displayed both his gift for the pass and innate scrambling abilities.
- In Week 4 tromped Tennessee 57-14 and threw 4 TD passes, while rushing for another.
- Suffered a non contact injury during practice during Week 8 and was placed on IR for the remainder of the season.
- Returned from injury in 2018 and led the Texans to a 11-5 record and completed 345 of 505 passes for 4165 yards, 26 TDs and 9 interceptions.
- Had another solid outing in 2019, posting a 10-5 record, completing 333 of 495 passes for 3852 yards and 26 TDs (12 INT).
- Beat Buffalo in the Wildcard round completing 20/25 passes for 247 yards and a TD, while rushing for another 55 and a TD to win 22-19.
- 2020 was by far his best season as a pro, completing 382 of 544 passes for 4823 yards, and 33 TDs to just 7 interceptions, while rushing for 444 yards on 90 carries.
- His passing numbers led the league across the board.
- The caveat though was that he went 4-12 as a starter.
- To make a long story short in 2021, Watson demanded the team trade him and refused to play until they did so.
- In 2022, with multiple suiters ponying up a bag of draft choices and capital, Deshaun Watson was eventually traded to… the Cleveland Browns!
- He signed one of the largest contracts in NFL history, coming in at 230 million for 5 years.
- Suspended by the league for his behavior in regards to over 24 sexual assault and harassment allegations, Watson started his first game against Houston in week 12 of 2022.
- After beating the Texans- Watson’s numbers were- well… underwhelming.
- He finished 2022 3-3 completing 99 of 170 passes for 1102 yards and 7 TDs to 5 picks.
- It appeared that 2023 might be his year, as he posted a 5-1 record as a starter and completed 105/171 passes for 1115 yards and 7 TDs, but he only saw action in 6 games primarily due to injury…
- The wheels fell off the bus in 2024 though, as Watson finished 1-6 as a starter, and completed again just 137 of 216 passes for 1148 yards and 5 TDs to 3 interceptions- before sustaining an season ending knee injury in Week 7.
- It was revealed that Watson suffered a setback to his rehab from injury, and it appears that he will be unavailable to play at least until the 2026 season.
ACCOLADES:
- All Rookie Team 2017
- Davey O’Brien Award 2015, ’16
- Manning Award 2015, ’16
- Pro Bowl 2018- ’20
NOTES:
I remember when the Texans drafted Deshaun Watson. I was sitting in a bar with Rod Babers and my friend Josh. I made the call early that the Texans were going to draft him, so when they made the move and selected him, the crowd erupted, and I just stood up silently with my arms raised like a champion prizefighter.
Things were pretty good there, and once Watson became the starter, it was electric. My fantasy team went gangbusters when I moved him into the starting lineup until he got injured.
Watson opened a Lefty’s Famous Cheesesteaks Hoagies & Grill. I kicked myself when I found out that he and a stack of Houston Texans appeared at the grand opening. I had a feeling he’d show up, so it was a big blow not trusting my gut and missing out on him.
Then I sent TTM these cards hoping to get his autograph. I mean honestly, are they legit? I don’t know. It looks like it was signed with a Vis-a-vis overhead pen rather than a sharpie. Furthermore one of these was turned around pretty quickly from his home in Atlanta- during the regular season. So am I leaning towards a stamp… I don’t think so. Am I leaning towards a ghost signer? Absolutely.
I tried to explain my position with another fan in a TTM group I was friends with- Scott. He just came unhinged about it insisting that despite the proof I provided, that his were legitimate. I told him he was entitled to feel that his were legitimate as I only had a strong suspicion that these were not authentic- so after going off on some wild political diatribe he unfriended me… and it went from there.
I was solidly in Watson’s camp until the latter stages of his time in H-Town. As Bill O’Brien as GM and HC slowly dismantled the team, he traded DeAndre Hopkins to Arizona basically for peanuts raising Watson’s ire.
As Watson was wrapping up his rookie contract, the team signed him to an extremely lucrative contract.- Four years 156 million with a no trade clause. Just FOUR months after he signed the contract, he requested a trade in early 2021.
Initially it seemed like a good versus evil thing in Houston. Watson was mad about the personnel moves the team had done, hiring David Culley as HC without consulting him, and the presence of Jack Easterby who had scaled the franchise ranks and was having undue influence on the team. I even went out there and started trying to look into a Gofundme to buy a billboard near the stadium to cajole ownership into fixing things.
Then the rumors and stories of his appetites for female masseuses started leaking…
“Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”
After the first complaint surfaced, Watson denied the allegation. Then he was slammed with TWENTY TWO additional complaints. An additional TEN would join by July of 2021. Watson joined the team in camp but stood by his demand for a trade and refused to play. The team tried their best to get him onboard, but he sternly refused. Watson would be relegated to the scout team the entire year with a non-injury designation. By this point, the golden boy in my eyes had become the black sheep. There was no question that it was a tragic fall from grace.
Who knows what caused these ‘appetites’- what trauma or environment he was in that caused him to treat these women with such disdain- I’m sorry but 32? The team could’ve provided him with a masseuse through the franchise, but he declined… always seeking help outside or through channels like Craigslist.
From the Texans perspective, the Deshaun Watson trade, sending him to Cleveland has been a wellspring. For the Browns it was a stripping of the cupboard bare.
I have NEVER cheered on Watson again. I have always openly sneered at every injury and new revelation that’s come about. The Browns went from lovable loser to bad guy overnight.
When the Browns made the playoffs in ’23 and met the Texans in Houston, it was a seminal moment. Not only did the Texans clobber the Browns in an upset, Watson didn’t even play due to (frequent) injury. The Texans also bet on the Browns being worse than the Texans by taking the Browns #1 and trading theirs away to the Browns. In part due to the win, the Texans secured themselves a better draft position by beating the doors off the Browns.
Who knows why Watson hasn’t panned out in Cleveland? I’ve always felt that coaches adapted their offenses to his skillset where he thrived. Is he just not studying and relying on his athletic talent only? Can he not handle the hate? Did he just accumulate too much rust from having a season and a half off? Does he care now that he’s gotten a life changing bag of money?
Who knows, but at this point, time’s running out on his time in Cleveland in what is widely being considered the biggest modern trade fleecing in NFL history.
After my previous failures getting Watson TTM, I went ahead and watched the EBay certified market carefully. I feel like it’s beginning to bottom out on him. Sellers are becoming more desperate to offload his autograph and I targeted two nice certifieds of him. I forgot to bid on it and it expired without any bids. The seller relisted it with a buy it now at the same price and I pulled the trigger for basically a box of cards.
It’s an encased card, so it was hard to get a scan of the product since it’s in a quarter of an inch thick plastic from the manufacturer.
