Benjamin Watson calls out Saints coaches for 2018 NFC Championship decision

Matt Sullivan

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Benjamin Watson calls out Saints coaches for 2018 NFC Championship decision image

The New Orleans Saints, since Drew Brees retired after the 2020 season, haven't been able to rebound. While Brees led the Saints to the 2009 Super Bowl Championship, the Saints haven't been able to make it back in the years since.

But, in 2018, they made the NFC Championship, but couldn't beat the Los Angeles Rams, as the West Coast team was aided by a historically bad call en route to a 26-23 loss for New Orleans.

Over half a decade later, former Saints tight end Benjamin Watson, who was inactive for that game, came out and accused the Saints of not paying him despite being healthy, and instead playing a different tight end that he described as a "new toy" for Sean Payton and the Saints coaching staff.

Benjamin Watson calls out the Saints' coaching staff for the 2018 NFC Championship decision

Watson responded to a post about Boomer Esiason's thoughts on the controversial 2019 NFC Championship game between the Saints and Rams on Twitter/X with a comment of "I think of that game too."

Under his post, @sonof71 commented, "We were a Ben Watson appendix away...sigh." Watson was ruled out for the NFC Championship with appendicitis at the time.

Katherine Terrell of ESPN reported that Watson was going to be inactive against the Rams, and though he had avoided surgery, "the team decided he'll be inactive this week."

Watson then responded to the fan's comment with an accusation directed at the Saints' coaching staff for their decision: "I was medically cleared to play. I was a healthy scratch. Coaches had a new toy they wanted to try out in the NFC Championship game."

This post from Watson is accusing Payton and the Saints coaching staff of sitting Watson, despite him being available for the game, and instead looking to use what Watson described as a "new toy."

Watson is a tight end, so the player that he's referring to as the "new toy" likely refers to a tight end. He doesn't explicitly name the player, but there are a few players Watson could be referring to.

Josh Hill was a tight end for the Saints that season, but he had been with the Saints for five years, so he doesn't qualify as a "new toy."

Taysom Hill, while listed as a quarterback on the roster at the time, had been used as both a runner and receiver at the time, and he was in just his second season. He could qualify, but he had been with the team for a little while and wasn't exactly a "new toy" like Watson described.

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Other than both Hills, the only other tight end Watson could be referring to is Dan Arnold, an undrafted free agent the Saints signed during the summer before the 2018 season.

Arnold was inactive for the NFC Divisional round against the Philadelphia Eagles, but with Watson's appendicitis, he was active for the Championship. In the first quarter, he couldn't haul in a pass from Brees for a touchdown, forcing the Saints to settle for a field goal.

While the controversial pass interference call took hold over the game's narrative, that missed opportunity came back to bite the Saints, with the game heading into overtime. If Arnold makes that catch, the Saints might advance to the Super Bowl.

But, he couldn't haul it in, and fortunately for Arnold, the pass interference is what people remember years later. However, now with Watson accusing the coaching staff of sitting him in favor of a "new toy," Arnold's incompletion takes on a new meaning.

It's impossible to know for sure whether Watson was specifically alluding to Arnold, but of the tight ends on the roster, Arnold is the one who best fits Watson's description.

Regardless of whether it was Arnold or not, Watson's post is an inflammatory one that accuses the Saints of not playing their starting tight end in the biggest game of the year.

With an already brutal and controversial loss, this comment from Watson only makes the Saints' NFC Championship game leave a sour taste in the mouths of Saints fans.

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