Browns’ Deshaun Watson faced ‘cheap shots’ from Eagles defenders at joint practice, teammate says

The Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns are in joint practices this week ahead of their second preseason games with the regular season less than a month away from kickoff.

Browns offensive lineman Joel Bitonio appeared to take issue with how rough the Eagles’ defensive players have been, especially when it came to quarterback Deshaun Watson. Bitonio accused the Eagles players of taking “cheap shots” and he had a problem with Josh Sweat knocking the ball out of Watson’s hand on one play as the quarterbacks are not supposed to be touched during practices.

Cleveland Browns guard Joel Bitonio prepares to protect quarterback Deshaun Watson during the Washington Commanders game on Jan. 1, 2023, at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland. (Lee Coleman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

“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,” Bitonio told reporters Tuesday, via Cleveland.com.

Bitonio, a five-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro, is one of the veterans on the team. He’s been in Cleveland since 2014 and it’s no wonder why he didn’t mince words about his Eagles counterparts. He hasn’t missed a regular-season game since 2016.

Cleveland Browns guard Joel Bitonio before the game against the New York Jets at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, on Aug. 3, 2023. (Ken Blaze-USA Today Sports)

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Browns defensive end Myles Garrett said he didn’t see any “cheap shots” but it didn’t mean they didn’t happen.

“I didn’t see cheap shots myself,” Garrett added. “I’m not saying that they didn’t happen, but I didn’t see any. I saw there were some skirmishes on the offensive field, so check in and I know they’ll be better and I know the older guys, they have a lot of vets that will help them continue to practice the right way and have good habits.”

Quarterback Deshaun Watson of the Browns warms up prior to a preseason game against the Washington Commanders on Aug. 11, 2023, in Cleveland, Ohio. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)

Cleveland and Philadelphia will meet at 7:30 p.m. ET Thursday.