An offensive lineman’s number one job, no matter what the circumstance, is to protect his quarterback. That is generally understood about the position, yet sometimes it needs to be taught, or at least reinforced, as was the case with a Pittsburgh Steelers line in transition in 2021.
Even in a practice setting, or after one, you might be called upon to go to bat for your guy. That’s what Cleveland Browns G Joel Bitonio did for QB Deshaun Watson yesterday following a joint practice with the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles.
“Sometimes there are some cheap shots and things like that where you want to defend yourself”, he told reporters yesterday, via the team’s website. “We’re trying to get the best out of practice and not fighting”, adding that head coach Kevin Stefanski intervened to try to keep things calm.
According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, Browns players were unreceptive to Eagles defenders playing “too fast and loose” with Watson—for example, DE Josh Sweat swatting the ball out of his hands on a ‘strip sack’ in a practice setting. “You’re not supposed to do that”, she quotes Bitonio as saying.
“It’s just in our practice, you protect the quarterback”, he said. “You don’t want to come close to the quarterback, you don’t want to take cheap shots, things like that where there might’ve been a couple of questionable plays both ways today”.
The Eagles defense intercepted Watson twice on the day, the second of two joint practices between the two squads. Cabot also reports that Browns players were not happy about how Philadelphia handled the run-back in an overly physical way.
The Browns and Eagles will play Thursday in Week Two of the preseason, though it will be Game Three for Cleveland after participating in the Hall of Fame game. It will be interesting to see if there is any added chippiness extending from the results of this practice.
Given the price that Browns paid to acquire Watson last year, one would imagine they have an added sensitivity to protect him. Not only did they give up three first-round picks in order to trade for him, they also gave him a $230 million five-year contract, which was fully guaranteed.
He only played in six games at the end of the 2022 season after serving an 11-game suspension stemming from accusations from dozens of massage therapists that he sexually harassed or assaulted them. Accordingly, he has not received much sympathy from opposing fans.
The majority of Browns fans, however, have seemed to accept him. No active Browns player has said anything that might rock the boat as far as their feeling about playing with someone accused of sexual assault—but then again, it’s not a position any player should be thrust into to begin with.
