Report: Deshaun Watson reached out to Leonard Fournette and Jarvis Landry about playing together in Atlanta
Quarterback Deshaun Watson reportedly came close to joining the Atlanta Falcons after contacting running back Leonard Fournette and wide receiver Jarvis Landry over the possibility of teaming up together.
Per ESPN's senior NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler, he was close enough to get in contact with Fournette and Landry over FaceTime about getting together in the NFC South:
“As of Thursday night, the feeling was Watson expected to go to Atlanta,” the report read. “And Atlanta thought it had Watson, who was considering the pass-catching weapons who could join him there — until Cleveland came with a deal that would be nearly impossible to refuse.”
How close was Deshaun Watson to going to Falcons? Heard from several people that Watson had correspondence with Jarvis Landry and Leonard Fournette about playing together with Falcons, possibly on FaceTime
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"How close was Deshaun Watson to going to Falcons? Heard from several people that Watson had correspondence with Jarvis Landry and Leonard Fournette about playing together with Falcons, possibly on FaceTime." - Jeremy Fowler via Twitter
Fournette has played the last two seasons in the NFC South as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, after spending the first three seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars. This offseason, he signed a three-year, $21 million dollar contract extension with Tampa Bay.
It includes $12 million guaranteed and an average yearly salary of $7 million. In the 2022 season, the running back will earn a base salary of $2,000,000 and a signing bonus of $5 million, while having a cap hit of $3,666,666 and a dead cap value of $9 million.
Landry spent the last four seasons with the Cleveland Browns and had 52 receptions, 570 receiving yards, and two touchdowns in the 2021 season. The team cut the five-time Pro Bowl receiver this offseason, and he is currently a free agent.
Deshaun Watson joins the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland swooped in and made Watson an offer he could not turn down in the form of a five-year, $230 million contract extension.
He will get $184 million over the first four years of his new contract, a $48 million raise over what he was projected to make under the contract he signed with the Houston Texans in September 2020.
Important contract note for Deshaun Watson, who got a 5-year, $230M contract. His base salary for 2022 is $1M, which means if he’s suspended, it’ll come out of that base.
The full $230 million is guaranteed, a record for the highest guarantee given to a player. He’ll make $1,035,000 in base salary in the 2022 season. This is the amount he would lose a game if he is suspended by the league over claims of sexual assault and inappropriate conduct.
He’s been accused by 22 women of multiple counts of sexual misconduct. A grand jury in Texas decided he would not face criminal charges, but he still had several civil suits filed against him, regarding the incidents in question.