Deshaun Watson is third in NFL history in standard passer rating. Will he return to his Pro Bowl form with the Browns this season?
It’s an easy enough narrative, isn’t it? It’s simple: Deshaun Watson’s first full season back, he ‘returns to form’ as an elite quarterback in the NFL.
But is that too simple? Is it too easy? Is that really the way things go in a league as tough as the NFL?
Let’s dive in and look a little closer at Watson’s situation heading into the 2023 NFL season.
Browns: Deshaun Watson was at his worst last year
The Cleveland Browns hung around with Jacoby Brissett under center for the first portion of their 2022 campaign, but ‘The Dawg Pound’ fans were eagerly awaiting Watson’s return.
When the former Pro Bowler finally did return to the field?
Well, it just wasn’t pretty. Watson simply wasn’t the gifted quarterback we had once seen.
His 79.1 passer rating was a career low. His 38.3 QBR was also a career low. Even his completion percentage, 58.2, was a career low.
Watson looked indecisive and quite often overmatched. Was he simply rusty? Was it was because he was getting used to Kevin Stefanski’s offensive system, after coming over from the Houston Texans?
Maybe. But I really don’t think it’s that simple.
Do the Browns have bad karma hanging over their entire organization?
I just don’t know, y’all. Deshaun Watson is a man who was accused of sexual assault by 24 different women. If you read deeply into all this, it’s difficult to be in Watson’s corner on anything. I know I’m not.
At the time, the Cleveland Browns gave this man the most guaranteed money of any player in the history of the NFL.
Does that seem right to you? Does it feel right?
Is this a young man you want to build your organization around?
The whole entire thing feels wrong to me. As the Browns fell apart last season with Watson under center, I couldn’t help but think, serves them right, doesn’t it?
Let’s get real: On the exact same team, Brissett outplayed Watson. Same team, same coaches, and it really wasn’t even that close. Brissett looked sharper, crisper — hell, he simply performed better.
So yeah, I do think Deshaun Watson hangs an ominous cloud over the Cleveland Browns organization.
Final prediction: Where will Deshaun Watson and the Browns end up this season?
Well, I have the Browns coming in last in their division.
The Joe Burrow, and now Marlon Humphries injuries, make things a bit murkier in the AFC North, but I still have the Bengals, Ravens and Steelers finishing ahead of the Browns.
I don’t see a magical resurgence from Deshaun Watson.
I don’t see the Browns organization getting over the hump.
Maybe they should have thought harder about the type of man they were choosing to lead their organization forward.
John Frascella is a published sports author who has been covering the NFL for 19 years. Follow him on Twitter @LegendSports7 for all things NFL, NBA and MLB throughout the year.