Browns sticking with Watson at QB

The Browns are counting on a major comeback from a quarterback other than the one who won NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

If there was any thought that Deshaun Watson’s future with the Browns might be muddied by the team winning 11 games and going to the playoffs with four different starters, including Joe Flacco’s award-winning straight-offthe-couch late-season resurgence, forget about it.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski and new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey are headed to Los Angeles to visit with Watson — who is coming off of season-ending right shoulder surgery — next week.

“I know he is going to start throwing here shortly,” Stefanski said. “He’s hitting all of his milestones.”

The Browns owe $138 million to Watson over the next three years. Watson has thrown 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 12 games since 2020 — before he sat out a season during a contract dispute, before he was traded and before he served an 11game suspension after he was accused of sexual misconduct by more than two dozen massage therapists.

“We don’t even think about it in terms of necessarily living up to a contract,” general manager Andrew Berry told Pro Football Talk. “We just want him to be available. If he’s available, we know that he can play at a high level.”

Colts general manager Chris Ballard indicated he will keep Michael Pittman

Jr. — who has two 1,000-yard seasons over his first four in the NFL — from reaching free agency one way or another.

The 49ers are interviewing Chiefs defensive backs coach Dave Merritt for their defensive coordinator vacancy. Merritt was a Giants assistant from 2004-17 but wasn’t among the eight candidates to interview for their defensive coordinator job earlier this offseason . ... The Chiefs reportedly will cut WR Marquez ValdesScantling, which saves $12 million against the salary cap.