Deshaun Watson's future with Cleveland Browns might be in doubt. However, another part of his future is more secure.
Watson and his longtime girlfriend, Jilly Anais, announced in a joint Instagram post on Sunday that they got engaged. The caption reads “Mrs. Watson loading ...” while showing off Anais wearing a large diamond ring as Watson hugs and looks at her.
Watson commented on the post, writing “MORE GLORY” followed by a prayer emoji.
Watson and Anais have been dating since 2019, after first meeting in Los Angeles. They are both 29. Anais — who has nearly 2.5 million followers on social media — is a singer, actress and cookbook author.
The couple stayed together amid accusations in 2021 and '22 by more than two dozen women that Watson sexually assaulted and harassed them during massage therapy sessions in Houston, when he played for the Texans. Two grand juries declined to indict him and he has settled civil lawsuits in all but one of the cases.
Watson was suspended by the NFL for the first 11 games of the 2022 season after being traded by the Texans to the Browns and was fined $5 million for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
He may miss the entire 2025 season after rupturing his right Achilles tendon for the second time in three months in January. He originally injured it during an Oct. 20, 2024, loss to the Bengals.
The Browns have reworked his contract twice in three months to gain some financial flexibility. Cleveland has insurance that protects the contract and could get some cap relief from the NFL if he is out for the season.
Watson has played in only 19 games since the Browns acquired him and signed him to a fully guaranteed $230 million contract. He made just six starts in 2023 before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury and started seven last year before the Achilles tendon injury.
Cleveland, which went 3-14 in 2024, has the second pick in April’s NFL draft. It recently hosted Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward.
The Browns also acquired Kenny Pickett in a trade with Philadelphia last week at the start of free agency and hosted free agent Russell Wilson for a visit last Thursday.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Joe Reedy, The Associated Press
