The Cleveland Browns acquired quarterback Deshaun Watson last offseason with the hope he would emerge as the superstar quarterback the franchise has lacked for decades. However, Watson fell well short of expectations in 2022.
After serving an 11-game suspension, Watson made his Browns’ debut on Dec. 4 against the Houston Texans. He finished with fewer than 170 passing yards, a mark he failed to reach in four-of-six starts
- Deshaun Watson stats (2022): 79.1 QB rating, 58.2% completion rate, 7-5 TD-INT, 6.5 yards per attempt, 183.7 pass ypg, 20 sacks in six starts
Across six starts, Watson completed fewer than 60 percent of his passes three times. Cleveland also struggled offensively with Watson under center, scoring fewer than 20 points four times.
Banking on improvement in 2023, Cleveland restructured Watson’s contract this offseason to create immediate cap space so it could improve the roster. Now with one of the most talented offensive lineups in the NFL, Cleveland believes a rebound season is coming for Watson.
According to Adam Caplan of Pro Football Network, Browns’ officials have raved about the “strong offseason” Watson had and the improvement they saw from him during offseason training. When the Pro Bowl quarterback was on the field during OTAs and minicamp, he showed more command of the offensive scheme and displayed significantly improved accuracy.
Accuracy proved to be a significant issue for Watson last season. He posted a 74.4 percent On-Target throw rate, which would’ve ranked 21st among qualified starting quarterbacks. He also struggled in cold weather and playing outdoors after spending the majority of his career regularly playing in domes.
- Deshaun Watson contract: $19.057M cap hit (2023), $63.977M cap hit (2024), $63.977M cap hit (2025), $63.977 million cap hit (2026)
Cleveland’s confidence in Watson bodes well for its outlook in 2023. However, anything short of the Browns making the playoffs and Watson playing at a Pro Bowl level could result in sweeping changes to the organization next year.