The Cleveland Browns are less than a week away from their season opener against the Dallas Cowboys. Ahead of Week 1 action, the season debut of quarterback Deshaun Watson is becoming a big thing to watch.
Over his first two years with the Browns, Watson has been a major disappointment. Injuries have been a big part of derailing his career since the trade, but the team is hopeful that he'll be back to full health for the start of the 2024 campaign.
With that in mind, NFL insider Jeff Howe of The Athletic, has revealed more information about Watson's health. It sounds like things are exactly where Cleveland was hoping they would be.
"Quarterback Deshaun Watson is physically on pace where the Browns expected him to be following a displaced shoulder fracture. The question, though, is where his performance will be this season. It’s been four years since Watson was viewed among the league’s top quarterbacks, and the offense sputtered this summer."
Watson is entering a make-or-break season for himself in 2024. If he can rebound strong, he'll remain the quarterback for the Browns. Should he have a third straight dud of a season, Cleveland could consider replacing him.
At 28 years old, he still has plenty of time to get his career back on track.
During the 2023 season with the Browns, Watson ended up playing in just six games before going down with injury. He completed 61.4 percent of his pass attempts for 1,115 yards, seven touchdowns, and four interceptions. In 2022, he also played six games, completing just 58.2 percent of his passes for 1,102 yards, seven touchdowns, and five interceptions.
Obviously, those numbers aren't going to get the job done for Cleveland. The team needs a lot more from him in 2024.
Hopefully, he'll be able to rise to the occasion and put up a big year. He still has the same talent that he had when he was a star with the Houston Texans.
All of that being said, this update from Howe is good news. He's where the Browns wanted him to be from a health perspective and now he simply needs to produce on the field. We'll see if he can do that in Week 1.
