The Cleveland Browns signed wide receiver Marquise Goodwin to a one-year deal in March.
BEREA — Marquise Goodwin still remembers the night.
About two decades later, the details have faded a bit. But he remembers the basics. He was in middle school. It was about 3:30 a.m., maybe 4.
He woke up when he heard someone talking and quickly realized it was his younger sister, Deja. So Goodwin did what any good older brother would do. He got up and went to check on her.
As he got closer to her bed, though, he realized Deja wasn’t just talking — she was praying.
“I’m listening, and my sister’s like, ‘God, just please,’” Goodwin recounted. “She’s like, ‘Please just let me feel what it feels like to walk. I just want my feet to touch the ground.’”
Deja, just 10 months younger than Marquise, was born with cerebral palsy and is unable to walk. The two are exceedingly close in a large family — Goodwin is the oldest of 12 siblings — and he said he’s heard similar prayers from her multiple times over the years.
“You hear that, you ain’t going to be motivated?” he asked rhetorically.
Hearing the story provides a glimpse into how Goodwin, one of the most unique receivers in the NFL, has wound up here.
Goodwin is entering his 10th NFL season (he opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns) and first with the Browns, who signed him to a one-year deal in March thanks in large part to his speed. It’s speed the 32-year-old has developed and maintained thanks to the fact that he is also an elite long jumper. Goodwin did both track and football at the University of Texas and was a two-time NCAA national champion in the long jump (2010 and 2012) before he participated in the 2012 London Olympics. He set the national high school record in long jump with a distance of 8.18 meters, a mark that still stands.
The reason Goodwin brought up his sister Deja during Wednesday’s Browns practice is because he was asked how he’s been able to accomplish as much as he has in track while still forging a lengthy career in the NFL.
“That’s my motivation,” Goodwin said of his sister. “I’d be doing her a disservice if I were to not go and maximize in my sport of ability. If I’m not out running, if I’m not out jumping, if I’m not out catching footballs and I’m just sitting around being lazy or complaining, then I’m doing her disservice.”
The two have remained close, and it’s clear she holds a special place in his heart and mind.
During Goodwin’s third year in the league when he was still with the Buffalo Bills, Deja came to live with him, along with their brother, Rickey, who helped with her care.
Like the night he heard her praying when they were children, as adults Goodwin said he experienced other moments with Deja that helped reset his perspective. One day after she moved in, Goodwin said he showed Deja a picture of herself, and was shocked when she asked if it was their mother.
“I’m like, ‘How do you not know who this is?’” Goodwin said. “And she’s like, ‘I don’t know … ‘I don’t see myself.’ She don’t see herself in the mirror. She can’t walk.
“I bought a big a— mirror, put it up, and I picked her up, and I’m just weeping. I’m bawling. Because my sister at the time was like 25 and had never seen herself in the mirror. You know what I’m saying? So it adds perspective for me. I have no excuses. I’m humbled to be here. I’m super grateful.”
Goodwin is a track star. A flashy NFL wide receiver who made a handful of big plays during that practice session on Wednesday, showing off the speed he’s spent a lifetime building, catching two acrobatic deep balls from Deshaun Watson for touchdowns during 7-on-7s.
But he’s also a son, a husband, a father. The kind of guy who thanks reporters for their questions, who started off his media availability flexing for the cameras before thanking God and the Browns for signing him.
Goodwin is many things now. And he got here by being Deja’s brother first.
