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NFL Names Deshaun Watson 18th Best Player, Celebrates With Awkward Video: TRAINA THOUGHTS

"Nobody knows when Deshaun Watson will take the field again."

Jimmy Traina

1. The NFL has been counting down the top 100 players in the game (as voted on by the players) with a weekly show on the NFL Network. The show is supposed to be a celebration of the best of the best.

This weekend, it was revealed that Deshaun Watson came in at No. 18.

Normally, after a reveal, there is a video package featuring players, coaches and talking heads waxing poetic about the player.

Instead, the NFL kicked off the Watson video with a gloomy and ominous voice over that started with, “Nobody knows when Deshaun Watson will take the field again. His future is uncertain.”

The short clip ends with the doomsday voice saying: “The skill is no mystery. Almost everything else is.”

Watson is facing 22 civil lawsuits and 10 criminal complaints from massage therapists alleging sexual assault. It was also revealed last week that the FBI is investigating the Texans quarterback.

Of course, the NFL didn’t address that specifically and instead went with vague and generic lines, which is what you’d expect from the league. That just made the clip even more awkward and cringeworthy.

2. If you're a wrestling fan who likes comebacks, this was the weekend for you with CM Punk's debuting at AEW on Friday night and Becky Lynch and Brock Lesnar's showing up at SummerSlam (in front of nearly 52,000 fans) on Saturday.

The Punk return was electric and the fan favorite fulfilled his lifelong dream of having his own ice cream bar and provided freebies for every fan in attendance.

Lesnar's return sadly coincided with John Cena's departure. Cena had a magical run over the past several weeks, finally being embraced by the WWE Universe. He said goodbye once again Monday morning.

3. Former Browns offensive lineman Joe Thomas was in the booth for Saturday's preseason game against the Giants, and he had an issue. A sweat issue. But he embraced it.

4. Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette reacted to a close encounter with some sort of fly/bug yesterday the same way we all do.

5. Just another reminder that The Rock is awesome.

6. Joe Buck is the guest on this week’s SI Media Podcast, and he discussed his week as Jeopardy! guest host and weighed in on James Holzhauer’s snarky tweet about him. Buck also talked about the Field of Dreams game between the Yankees and White Sox, embarking on his 20th season with Troy Aikman, the NFL’s emphasis on taunting this year, whether he'll mention teams covering point spreads during games and much more.

You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Stitcher.

You can also watch the SI Media Podcast on YouTube.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Happy Monday. Is this you?

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Stitcher. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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