More than two years into the Deshaun Watson era, the Cleveland Browns still don’t know what it’s like to have the quarterback play a full season — or even half of one, for that matter.
Watson has missed 11 games in each of his first two campaigns with the franchise. In 2022 that was due to a suspension from the NFL for violating its player code of conduct policy. Last year, it was due to a shoulder injury that required season-ending surgery in November.
But the QB continues his rehabilitation in Los Angeles and recently began throwing for the first time since undergoing the aforementioned surgery in late 2023. He spoke publicly on Thursday, April 4 as to his hopes for the upcoming campaign, as the Browns try to earn a playoff spot for the second consecutive year.
#Browns QB Deshaun Watson:
"Being able to pull out a full season…we get one full season and it's going to be a special thing. I really believe that, the organization believes that and the locker room believes it, too. We're putting together a great contender." pic.twitter.com/mMkNFCTJ37
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) April 4, 2024
“That’s the plan, is just being able to pull out a full season,” Watson told Camryn Justice of WEWS Cleveland. “The first year we had some stuff that we had to do with the NFL, and then last year an injury popped up that I [couldn’t] really control too much. But we get one full season, and it’s gonna be special things. I really believe that, the organization believes that, and that locker room believe it, too. We’re putting together a great contender.”
Watson’s comments came at the grand opening of Lefty’s Cheesesteak in University Heights, a restaurant in which Watson has invested, according to Justice.