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Browns reportedly asked Deshaun Watson to play in Senior Bowl and he declined

It is a life-changing and historic moment to go first overall in an NFL draft, and you’d imagine any college football player would want that honor. Unless you’re a quarterback and the first pick is held by the Cleveland Browns, perhaps.

There was an interesting note from Peter King on The MMQB.com this week. The Browns talked to Watson last week and asked him to play in the Senior Bowl, King reported. He declined.

That invitation comes with certain overtones. The Browns are coaching the South team in this week’s Senior Bowl. They have the first pick. They need a quarterback. Watson will be in the conversation to be the first pick. It isn’t hard to line up the dots.

And still, Watson said no.

Watson had good reasons for not participating in the Senior Bowl. He just finished a 14-game season for Clemson, won a national title, and one of the reported reasons for him skipping the Senior Bowl is he was tired. That’s fair. But the Browns can’t be thrilled with Watson after he declined what was practically a week-long audition to be the top pick. It might be unfair, but you have to wonder if Watson could have been swayed by a franchise that isn’t the Browns. The Browns have a terrifying quarterback history and are coming off a 1-15 season. Someone will eventually become a good starting quarterback for Cleveland, but it’s a tough sell for a top quarterback prospect right now.

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Watson will be the draft’s most debated player. Amateur draft experts are already taking sides on his NFL future. The Browns will get opportunities to take a closer look at Watson, at the scouting combine, his pro day or private workouts. If they think he’s a franchise quarterback and worth the first pick, him skipping the Senior Bowl won’t matter. But it won’t earn him any extra credit with Cleveland’s brass.

The Browns have an interesting choice with the first pick, and they’ll have to consider all quarterbacks like Watson, North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky and Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer (Trubisky and Kizer were ineligible for the Senior Bowl). The Browns just won’t get closer to making that decision on quarterbacks this week.

Deshaun Watson skipped this week's Senior Bowl. (AP)
Deshaun Watson skipped this week’s Senior Bowl. (AP)

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!