Kevin Stefanski believes Deshaun Watson ‘on the same page’ with him
INDIANAPOLIS — The NFL Scouting Combine was in just its second day. The draft remains nearly two months away.
The start of the NFL’s regular season? That’s far enough away to render questions about it somewhat moot at this point.
However, such is the state of the Browns that head coach Kevin Stefanski couldn’t dodge what has been, is and will be the definitive question surrounding his team. It was a question that was posed directly to him as he spoke with a small group of Northeast Ohio media members on Wednesday inside the Indiana Convention Center.
Is the Browns’ success in 2023 directly tied to quarterback Deshaun Watson?
“Well, in the ultimate team game, I’d say it’s about our offense, defense, special teams,” Stefanski said. “I know how important the quarterback position is to the success of the offense, but it’s still going to be about the team and never about one person.”
Stefanski’s answer is correct, in a general sense. In reality, though, everything the Browns have done in what is just two-and-a-half weeks shy of a year since they acquired him in a trade from the Houston Texans says Watson is central to their success.
Or, more specifically, getting a Watson who is closer to the Pro Bowl form he showed in the final two years he started for the Texans in 2019 and 2020 is critical to that success. A Watson who looks similar to the version the Browns saw in his six-game return to the field last season may be what signals the end for Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry. They mortgaged the team’s future, including three first-round drafts and Watson’s five-year, $230-million fully-guaranteed contract that already needs to be restructured in order to open up much-needed cap space.
The Watson who emerged from a 700-day hiatus from regular-season NFL football after his 11-game suspension for personal conduct violations tied to more than two-dozen allegations of sexual assault and sexual misconduct during massage appointments was nowhere close to the one who was a Pro Bowler. He looked rusty, at times indecisive, and erratic while completing a career-low 58.2% of his 170 pass attempts for 1,102 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions.
Stefanski, though, has been confident in every conversation since the season ended on Jan. 8 that a much-improved Watson awaits this upcoming season. That’s even though there hasn’t been so much as one practice rep in nearly two months.
“I think my confidence comes from seeing him do it,” Stefanski said. “Seeing him do it in practice, in games. I think I know that he wants to be better. I know we’re going to try to be better around him, those type of things, but he’s played at a really high level in this league going back to college days. He’s a winner so I’m excited for him.”
