The Browns aren’t wasting any time, with news coming to light that Deshaun Watson will start at quarterback for them during Friday’s preseason opener against the Washington Commanders.
Some teams prefer to rest their starters, especially their quarterback, during the first preseason game. However, with only three preseason games instead of four nowadays, Cleveland wants Watson to get all the reps he can.
#Browns QB Deshaun Watson will start Friday’s preseason game against the Washington Commanders,” tweeted Ari Meirov.
Last season was disappointing in many aspects for the Browns and Watson, and it’s evident they’re taking some measures to ensure success moving forward.
During Watson’s last full season in 2020, he threw for a league-leading 4,823 yards along with 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing a career-high 70.2% of his passes. That is the kind of play that got the Browns to invest in him with a four-year, $156 million contract.
Time will tell if he can get back to it, but it’ll at least be interesting to see Deshaun Watson on the field on Friday night.
Deshaun Watson comments on his progress since last season
Continuing, Deshaun Watson believes he is poised for more success as he enters his second season with the Cleveland Browns. The three-time Pro Bowl quarterback made his return to the field last season after sitting out all of 2021, as well as missing the first 11 games of 2022 due to a suspension stemming from multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.
Watson appeared in the final six games of the year, but clearly had some rust to shake off. He led the Browns to just a 3-3 record in those games while completing a career-low 58.2% of his passes and throwing seven touchdowns to five interceptions.
But after a year of working with both head coach Kevin Stefanski and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, Watson is confident he has a better understanding of what to expect.
“I’m pretty far ahead of where I was last year,” Watson said in a recent press conference. “Last year was, as far as football and being on the field, just learning a new system. Trying to adapt to different teammates, different players, how guys run routes, how Kevin calls the plays. It’s just being able to process the game at the speed I know. Being a year in and being able to speak to Kevin and AVP about what we want to do and being confident about it, it allows me to play a little bit faster when I’m on the field.”
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