Back from exile, Watson ‘ready to roll’ vs. old team
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Kevin Stefanski said Monday he never considered holding Deshaun Watson out of Sunday’s game in Houston because of the potential volatile nature of the game.
It marks Watson’s first game back from his 11game suspension under the NFL’s personal conduct policy, and it takes place in the city where most of accusations of sexual misconduct from more than two dozen massage therapists took place. He’ll face the 1-9-1 Texans, who are gunning for the No. 1 overall pick — the second of the three first rounds picks they received from the Browns in the blockbuster and controversial trade for Watson.
“I think Deshaun has the support of his teammates, has the support of this organization,” Stefanski said Monday on a video conference. “Really right now, his focus and my focus is on the Houston game and that’s what we have to do as players, as coaches, is put the blinders on. Whatever’s going on the outside really can’t matter to us. We’ve got to focus on doing our job. And I think he definitely understands that.”
The game could feature protests inside and outside the stadium, and the same expletive-laden chants he heard in Jacksonville when he played in the preseason game there Aug. 12th. Whether or not he was rattled by the backlash, Watson went 1-for-5 for 7 yards in his three series en route to a 39.6 rating.
It would be understandable if Watson, who returned to practice Nov. 16, is rusty, but Stefanski wouldn’t handicap it.
“I certainly get it but can’t really control that for me and for Deshaun and for all of our players,” he said. “Just gotta keep the focus on doing our job. Think about there’s some guys that don’t play in preseason football and then they get in there Week 1, need to get tackled first time before they feel like they’re ready to go. So I think some of those things may be true, but I don’t wanna put anything on Deshaun. I think it’s unfair for me to say at this point, we don’t know.”
Based on what he’s seen in practice the past two weeks, where Watson’s helped run the scout team and taken a few reps with the starters, Stefanski is fairly confident that he’ll look like the elite player he is.
“The next step is obviously being out there taking all the first-team reps,” Stefanski said. “He’s been doing a nice job getting the defense ready with the scout-team reps that he’s got. So I think he’s done a nice job with his time away physically staying sharp, mentally staying sharp. So I think he’ll be ready to roll.”
Watson has worked tirelessly during his suspension to be ready for this moment, working daily with his private quarterbacks coach Quincy Avery, and staying in his playbook. By the time he got back, he knew the terminology and plays like the back of his hand.
“I have confidence in Deshaun based on his preparation and, really, the focus is on just him doing his job,” Stefanski said. “I mean, we’re still gonna be all about the team effort, still offense, defense and special teams. So this is never, ever gonna be about one person. But as it relates to Deshaun, I believe in his preparation, I believe that he worked really hard on a bunch of things to be ready to go.”
The Browns also believe that preseason game was an aberration. Receiver Anthony Schwartz ran a wrong route on one of hits three targets, and dropped two others. The feeling is that Watson will look a lot more like the smooth operator he’s been since his Clemson days who can make every throw and also make plays with his legs. In 2020, the last season he played, Watson led the NFL with 4,823 yards and finished second to Aaron Rodgers with a 112.4 rating. He also threw 33 touchdown passes to only seven interceptions. The talentchallenged Texans went only 4-12, but Watson made his third straight Pro Bowl.
“Deshaun’s played a lot of football,” Stefanski said. “He’s played in a lot of big games. So I think the tape is out on him, I think everybody has seen his ability to make all the throws. very athletic, can make plays with his feet, but can really hurt you from the pocket as well. So I’d say his versatility is something that you’ve seen over the course of his career.”
Stefanski was careful to give Watson most of the first-team reps throughout training camp, until he had to vacate the premises when it was over. Watson also took the offensive players to the Bahamas for on-field work and team bonding, accumulating a lot of camaraderie chips.
“I think you can go back to the spring and summer,” Stefanski said. “We spent a lot of time together, Deshaun spent a lot of time together with his teammates. I think we mentioned it at the time, I still believe those were banked reps, so to speak. So it’s something to where Deshaun spent a lot of time with his teammates. I think they’ve all enjoyed having him back and being a part of the team and I think they’re excited for him in this next step.”
Watson’s teammates, who’ve loved working with Jacoby Brissett, can’t help but notice how amazing he’s looked in practice.
“I know he’s ready,” rookie cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. said. “I’m excited for him. He threw a fade on me it was like—I can’t really explain it. It was like an overhead, back-shoulder fade that only the receiver could catch. It was like out of bounds and a receiver had (to) throw both his arms over his shoulder to catch the ball. And I had no chance to make that play. So I’m excited for him to come back. That was a great throw.”
He acknowledged it will be a lift for the whole team.
“I feel like Deshaun is very explosive,” he said. “I feel like we’ll have a lot more explosive plays.”