Austin Hooper calls out Cleveland Browns reporter for ‘clickbait’

Cleveland Browns tight end Austin Hooper has no issues with Jason Witten

Austin Hooper made some waves when he mentioned Jason Witten‘s approach to the game, but the Cleveland Browns tight end claims he was being sarcastic. Still, the quote has made its way around social media and that has led to some believing the two might not like one another.

Hooper, who joined the Browns this offseason was discussing his relationship with David Njoku — who had requested a trade but has since said he’s all-in with the Browns.

After heaping praise on Njoku, Hooper then poked fun at Witten who apparently had problems with Martellus Bennett back when the outspoken tight end was a backup to Witten.

Bennett claimed he hated Witten and had accused him of not wanting to help him along the way. Hooper was speaking with Browns reporter Mary Kay Cabot and poked fun at that, saying he would be more of a team guy.

"“My style, I’ve never really been a rah-rah guy at all,’’ he said via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “I just kind of like to lead by example, and if people have questions, I will answer them. I’m an open book. I don’t try to hoard information. I don’t like doing the whole (Raiders TE) Jason Witten deal where it’s me versus everyone else in the tight end room. David, Harrison (Bryant), Stephen (Carlson), Pharaoh (Brown), Nate (Wieting), we are all in this together.‘’"

Cabot used part of that quote in her title which led to some frustration with Hooper who claimed it was ‘clickbait’.

Hooper was quick to call out Mary Kay and fans were even quicker to send him “welcome to Cleveland” messages, saying that Cabot is known for putting a negative spin on her headlines.

Not everyone seems to agree though as other headlines floating around social media are now accusing Hooper of “taking a shot” at Witten. Some have even pointed out that another Cowboys’ tight end, Dalton Schultz, was a teammate of Hooper’s at Stanford — which led to more speculation as to why Hooper would have such hard feelings for someone he wasn’t on a team with.

Of course, Hooper knew this was coming, saying he would “take his whooping online.” And if we are being honest, Witten’s reputation has taken a hit in recent seasons, mostly due to his struggles on ESPN in his one-year retirement, so it’s easy to see why some would be quick to believe Witten isn’t popular among his peers.

In time, this one will blow over and Hooper will probably learn to be more careful with his words — since sarcasm doesn’t get picked up in text.