Deshaun Watson will see his first live, on-field action since midway through the 2024 season on Saturday when the Browns play the Bears in their preseason opener.
As Browns owner Jimmy Haslam put it, the Watson trade has been “a big swing and a miss” for the franchise. Watson hasn’t played good football since 2020, when he led the league with 4,823 passing yards. But even then, Houston went 4-12.
Then came the allegations of sexual assault and misconduct, resulting in a suspension and more than 20 settled civil lawsuits. And finally came Watson’s two Achilles tears since 2024.
So it stands to reason that even as the Browns are giving Watson every opportunity to win a quarterback competition with Shedeur Sanders, Watson is unlikely to ever revert back to the player he was earlier in his career with Houston.
Watson himself acknowledged this in his own way on Wednesday.
“I’m different, man,” Watson said in his press conference. “I think, ever since I’ve been here, early on bringing up Houston was cool, but I’m 30 now and I’ve had some injuries and things like that, so my game has definitely changed. But the mentality in how I play, and how I approach it, doesn’t change.
“So, I think the biggest thing is just going out there, playing free, and letting my instincts take over. That’s the biggest thing. Coach O’Brien always told me to trust my instincts, so I think that’s the biggest thing, just go out there, play free, and let the game come to you.”
However, head coach Todd Monken told reporters on Wednesday that he doesn’t see why Watson can’t regain his old form.
“Well, first of all, I would never put limitations on a player. I’d hate that he would do that,” Monken said. “Why can’t he be? Why can’t he play like that? I don’t know, I haven’t seen it yet. I’m not going to say he can’t until I see it.
“I’ve seen a lot of really good things over the course of the four or five months I’ve been here. I’m not going to put that on him. If he thinks he can’t play like that, that’s on him. I think he’s done a lot of really good things athletically, making plays that we’re going to get a chance to see, because we’re not live. We’ll see if that comes to play when we get out there and go.”
Watson is slated to play the first half of Saturday’s game against the Bears. We’ll all see what his performance looks like in a few days.