Deshaun Watson announces tragic death of his father two days before Cleveland Browns’ season opener

Deshaun Watson has announced the death of his father on the eve of the Cleveland Browns’ opening game of the new NFL season.  The superstar Browns quarterback, who was reportedly estranged from dad Don Richardson, took to his Instagram story on Friday to reveal the tragic news.  ‘Rest in Peace Pops,’ he wrote along with heartbreak and praying emojis.

Cleveland are due to host the Dallas Cowboys in their first outing of the 2024 season on Sunday. It is unclear whether Watson’s devastating news will rule him out of the Week 1 fixture.  No further information on Richardson’s passing has been released as of yet.

Back in 2017, Watson opened up on his relationship with his parents and revealed that he rarely saw his father while growing up in Gainesville, Georgia The then-Texans star told the Houston Chronicle when asked how many times he’d seen his dad: ‘Maybe five, at the most.

‘My mom was basically my mother and father, so I didn’t really pay too much attention to it. My friends had fathers. ‘But, for me, it was just kind of, “Hey, my mother is the one that I’m going to rely on and I’ll always focus on.”‘ Given his estranged relationship with dad Don, Watson instead chooses to use mom Deann’s surname. The Browns quarterback revealed the tragic news on his Instagram story on Friday

The 28-year-old is gearing up for a crucial season in Cleveland after suffering a broken bone in his throwing shoulder midway through the previous campaign.

Since the 2020 season, he has only made 12 appearances after not featuring in 2021 due to disagreements with the Texans’ front office and being suspended for the start of 2022 in Cleveland after being accused by more than two dozen women of sexual misconduct.

Watson led the Browns to a 5-1 start last term before picking up his injury and having season-ending shoulder surgery in November.  As he prepares to return this season, the three-time Pro Bowler recently said when asked if he still considers himself an elite quarterback: ‘Of course. No doubt.’

He added about recovering from shoulder surgery: ‘I challenged myself to get back to this moment right now, and I wanted to make every throw in the spring. I did that. I was able to make every throw that Dr. [Neal] ElAttrache put out there on the table for me, and I was able to do that before spring broke.  ‘And so going into the summer and training camp, everything else was just building the strength and building that endurance with the shoulder.’