Why Now With Deshaun Watson?
Credit: Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports
The Cleveland Browns’ most important concern is the health of their $230 million man, Deshaun Watson. So why, with a head coach obsessed with protecting his quarterback from Nancy’s in contact, are the Browns deciding now is the time to play him in the preseason?
Watson played all of six games last year for the Browns before being shut down for the season for shoulder surgery. It has been a slow process to get Watson through rehab to be ready for NFL action again. For each step of the way, Browns coach Kevin Stafeanski has made clear that they are being extra cautious. As they should be. Injury problems have been a problem for Watson over the last couple of years, so it makes sense why they have wanted to be as careful as possible.
At the end of July, Stefanski said the team was working with Watson on tackling drills in an effort to help him avoid the big hits that will be coming his way.
“It’s inevitable in this game of football. It’s a contact sport, so [Watson’s] certainly aware of that,” Stefanski said. “He’s played this game for a long time. So, I think for him, it’s understanding those avoidable hits, when you can take care of yourself, when you can slide, when you can get out of bounds, those types of things, but also knowing that this is the game of football. It’s physical and he doesn’t shy away from that at all.
“So, we’re not going to put him through a tackling drill,” Stefanski continued. “But we’ll make sure that he’s in position to protect himself when he can and also know to protect himself when he’s at the end of a run or maybe there’s a play that you have to eat the ball and protect the ball.”
Stefanski is right; it’s inevitable in the game of football that Watson will get hurt, but it’s a bit shocking that he’s still thinking about risking his $230 million man now, especially with what the Browns’ offensive line has shown during the preseason.
“All of our starters should expect to play and then we’ll determine who does or doesn’t, how many plays they do,” Stefanski said before practice on Tuesday. “In particular with Deshaun, I want to take in all the information this week and really make a final determination later in the week.”
Jedrick Wills Jr. and Jack Conklin are two offensive line anchors who are still dealing with injuries that are holding them out. In the Week 2 preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings, the Browns saw three more offensive linemen leave the game hurt.
“All things factor into every decision for all of our players,” Stefanski said. “Truthfully, we go player by player and what we’re trying to figure out is what do they need to get ready for a 17-game season. Every determination is based specifically on that player.”
It appears the offensive line’s injury woes could continue into the regular season, but that is a problem the team will have to deal with once the season starts. They can’t do much about their line now, but they can guarantee Watson a healthy return to the regular season by sitting him out Saturday against the Seattle Seahawks.
The only real reason to play Watson would be to try and knock some of the rust off after such a long layoff, but will one or two drives accomplish that? Probably not. The best-case scenario for the Browns is that Watson stays healthy, gets in 15 plays or so, and has to shake off slightly less rust in Week 1. The worst-case scenario is that the offensive line (which again, is hurt!) doesn’t protect him, Watson takes too many hits in the process, and their franchise quarterback is on the shelf again for the season.
In April, Watson made it clear that he was still very confident in his skill set. “You know, each and every fan, each and every media person, they want to see me at a level that I’m capable of doing. So, that’s the standard. So, I got to make sure I hold myself to it… I don’t get involved with people trying to rate me places where they think I’m at the bottom of the list, you know, it is what it is. If I was at the bottom, no one would talk about me. So obviously, if anyone is talking about me, continue to talk about me, then I must be pretty damn good.”
That’s great that Watson has faith in his abilities, but he needs to be on the field for the Browns to maximize them in the way they need to. That can’t hurt if he’s taking hits because his seventh-string tackle is getting turnstiled in a meaningless game. Stefanski still has a couple of days to make his decision, and there is a chance he already has and is just holding the decision close to his chest. The Browns need to make the smart decision and let Watson wait until Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys to trot onto the field.
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