The Deshaun Watson era with the Cleveland Browns will be studied and debated for years to come.
Watson arrived in town in 2022 after sitting out the previous season while in a dispute with the Houston Texans. All it cost the Browns was three first-round draft selections, $230 million in guaranteed money, and an immeasurable amount of goodwill with the fan base over Watson’s off-field conduct while with the Texans.
The veteran Watson, who threw for 4,823 yards and 33 touchdowns in 2020, was going to be
the adult in the room who could finally solve Cleveland’s quest to fix the quarterback position.
It hasn’t worked that way, of course, since joining the Browns, Watson:
- Missed the first 11 games of the 2022 season while serving an NFL suspension.
- Missed the final 10 games of the 2023 season after suffering a broken shoulder.
- Missed the final 10 games of the 2024 season after suffering a torn Achilles tendon.
- Missed all of the 2025 season after tearing the same Achilles tendon during rehab.
Add it all up, and for their big investment, the Browns have received 19 games, 3,365 passing yards, 19 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and 70 sacks.
It appeared that everyone had seen the last of Watson in a Cleveland uniform a year ago when owner Jimmy Haslam admitted that acquiring Watson was a “big swing and a miss” on the part of the Browns. All that was left to do was wait out the remaining time on Watson’s contract and move on after the 2026 season.
But a funny, or sad, depending on where you land in the debate, happened on the way to Watson’s much-anticipated departure.
The Browns still don’t have a solid plan at quarterback, which head coach Todd Monken is quickly realizing, which means that there is a very real chance that Watson will be in the huddle for Cleveland’s first offensive series on September 13 in Jacksonville.
It has been a long, strange trip for Watson, who is ready to put the past behind him and focus on this unexpected opportunity, as he said during a media appearance on Tuesday (all quotes via a team-provided transcript):
“I can’t look in the past. I can’t look in the rearview mirror. You know, obviously, you know those situations, and you have those experiences, but at the same time, you got to keep pushing forward. So, my mentality is one day at a time and ‘4OVE’. I think you guys have seen it on social media: focus only on victories every day. So that’s all I focus on, is just being able to keep pushing forward and keep stepping forward and standing 10 toes down, then I’ll be good.”
Having a short memory is great. You throw an interception, shake it off, and get back to the next play.
But Watson’s situation is different in that he has never fully been embraced by the fans. So how will he handle things if this is still true this fall?
“At the end of the day, I can’t control what people support. I think that’s their own opinions. I think that all I can do is just put out the best person I am, showcase who I am as a person, as a player, as a teammate, and what I represent as an individual. So outside of that, I can’t focus on what the outside is saying or what they — I have no control over that other than just putting out the best product that I can put out as a person and as a player.”
As poorly as the past few years have gone for Watson, he still has far more experience and has experienced far more success than anyone else in the current quarterback room of Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel, and Taylen Green.
That should be an advantage as the offense adjusts to live under Monken, according to Watson:
“You know, it’s a lot of responsibility on the quarterbacks in this system, and I think that’s what I had in Houston when I was with Bill O’Brien. He was pretty much that Tom Brady tree, and everything relied on the quarterback operation. So, with Monk, he’s giving a lot of responsibility to us, and you’ve got to own up to the responsibilities and the situations and what you decide to do on the field. And I think that’s something that I’m very comfortable with.”
Nothing has gone right for Watson ever since he arrived in Cleveland. Entering the final year of his contract, the incentive to show he can still function as a quarterback has to be high if he hopes to find another team willing to take him on in 2027.
A year ago, it seemed impossible that the Browns would consider starting Watson again, but things change quickly in the NFL.
And as hard as it is to imagine, maybe Watson has one more surprise in him before he and the Browns finally part ways.
