Deshaun Watson Has Begun Practicing With The Cleveland Browns; Can He Save Their Season?

For the Cleveland Browns, the good news is that Deshaun Watson has begun practicing with the team.

The bad news is that Watson will not be eligible to play in a game for three more weeks.

The really bad news for the free-falling Browns is that in three weeks, Watson’s return might not matter.

When the Browns started the season, Watson did not. Instead, he began serving an 11-game suspension for violating the NFL’s Player Conduct Policy.

The Browns hoped they could stay competitive during Watson’s absence, then make a late-season surge when he returned from his suspension. But that hasn’t happened. Cleveland has lost five of its last six games, and only two NFL teams, Houston and Las Vegas, have won fewer games than the 3-6 Browns.

Going back to last year, Cleveland has lost 14 of its last 22 games. The Browns haven’t won consecutive games since October 3, 2021.

Even when Watson does return, expectations of a sudden turnaround seem unrealistic. Watson’s first start for the Browns will be on December 4, at Houston. It will be his first appearance in a regular season NFL game since the last game of the 2020 season, when he was with Houston.

Now he’s with the Browns. Playing for the first time in almost two years, playing for a new team, throwing to receivers he’s never thrown to in a regular season game, trying to rally a team whose record by December 4 could be 3-8 – Cleveland’s next two games are against Buffalo and Tampa Bay – let’s just say that doesn’t sound like the kind of scenario that would produce a Cinderella finish for Watson or his new team.

For now, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski isn’t thinking about the dawning of the Deshaun Watson era on December 4. Stefanski has his hands full game-planning for Sunday’s game against Buffalo, in Buffalo, where the forecast is four to five feet of snow, plus six feet, five inches of Josh Allen.

“They are a really good team, with an impressive roster, and very well-coached,” said the very embattled Stefanski, who’s team has lost five of its last six games.

Although Watson still must sit out two more games to complete his suspension, he is now permitted to practice with the Browns. Stefanski was vague when asked how much Cleveland’s $230 million man will participate in practice.

“I’m not going to get into how many reps he’ll get,” Stefanski said of Watson. “But it’s good to have him out there practicing.”

The coach said “there’s no handbook” for how best to handle the team’s quarterback situation. In some ways it’s a moot point.

“Jacoby is starting,” Stefanski said of backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett. “His preparation is not changing.”

Despite the Browns’ dismal record, Brissett has, everything considered, played quite well as Watson’s stand-in. He’s completed 63.8 percent of his passes, for 2,074 yards, with eight touchdown passes, five interceptions, and a quarterback rating of 87.1. He’s also run for 182 yards and two touchdowns. With Brissett at the wheel, Cleveland is sixth in the AFC in points scored.

Stefanski made it clear that this week’s practices would be more about getting the team, and Brissett, ready to play Buffalo than trying to accelerate Watson’s return-to-play timetable, which, of course, is inflexible anyway. Watson will not be active for the Buffalo game, or next week’s game against the Buccaneers.

When the length of Watson’s suspension was announced prior to the start of the season, the Browns certainly thought they’d be in better shape, record-wise, than they are now. However, with two more games to play before Watson takes over at quarterback, the Browns’ playoff hopes are flickering. At 3-6 they might have to win out to reach the playoffs for the second time in Stefanski’s three years as coach.

On the other hand, only three of the Browns’ eight remaining opponents have winning records: Buffalo, Cincinnati, and Baltimore. Cleveland’s other remaining games are with Tampa Bay (5-5), Houston (1-7), New Orleans (3-7), Washington (5-5), and Pittsburgh (3-6).

However, on the other hand of the other hand, the Browns themselves are only 3-6, and probably will be underdogs in most of those eight games.

The wildcard, of course, is the addition of Watson, and whether he can do enough in the last six games of the season to salvage the season.