The Cleveland Browns may be leaning toward making Deshaun Watson their starting quarterback this season for many reasons, some that are projected and some that are much more tangible. There is a hope that Watson can regain the form that made him a Pro Bowl player with the Houston Texans, but there is also the reality that the Browns are paying him almost $50 million this season, so they might as well get something out of that.
Granted, Watson has reportedly been impressive during the limited amount of preseason practices to date. In fact, he is getting more first-team reps at this week’s organized team activities (OTAs) than he did at the voluntary minicamp back in April, and he is showing some improvement in those drills.
With all of that in mind, ESPN pundit Stephen A. Smith said he has a strong belief in the career resurgence of the Browns’ QB, and that he will be the starter over Shedeur Sanders.
“I think it’s Deshaun Watson [having a career resurgence]. With Deshaun Watson, there is something to be said about the fact that you once did it at a high level. He looked that elite in Houston. We haven’t seen that since in his four years in Cleveland. It still comes down to what he brings to the table. They’re going to give him every opportunity because they want to justify the dollars they’ve invested in him. The disappearance of his game, of the productive manner in which he used to play, that wasn’t due to injuries. That was due to the other stuff. It really derailed his performances. One would like to believe he could get that back, and I think Cleveland’s hoping for that, too. That’s why I say Deshaun Watson instead of Shedeur Sanders,” Smith said.
In 2020, the final season Watson played for Houston, he led the league with almost 5,000 passing yards. From there, his career was diminished by multiple sexual assault allegations, leading the Texans to keep him off the field in 2021 and trade him to the Browns the following offseason. Watson then sat out most of his first season with Cleveland, serving an NFL suspension.
Add to that two season-ending injuries, one to his shoulder and one to his Achilles, and Watson has played in just 19 of a possible 68 games for the Browns, earning $230 million from his record-breaking fully guaranteed contract. That financial obligation alone could pave the way for him to be the starting quarterback this season.
It needs to be considered that Watson hasn’t been in top form for almost six years, and he has played in just seven NFL games since November 2023. It would be almost impossible for a quarterback to be close to what he once was, now that he’s that much older and with that much time spent on the sidelines.
Watson might turn out to be the better player than Sanders this season, but that likely says more about his competition than anything else.
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