Quarterback Deshaun Watson has completed the first two years of his five-year, fully guaranteed contract with the Browns.
With Watson missing multiple games before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 10, Watson has now played in just 12 games over the last two years. The Browns did go 5-1 in contests Watson started. And the last game Watson played, he led Cleveland to a comeback victory over the Ravens on the road.
But there are still fair questions as to how well Watson will play for the Browns in the future.
On Monday, General Manager Andrew Berry noted that the organization feels good about Watson’s progress in his rehab.
“[We] do feel really good about him, happy with the progress that he’s made within our organization, both on the field and off the field,” Berry said, via Daryl Ruiter of 92.3 The Fan. “And we’re looking forward to get him back next year. We think he’s going to have a really big year and have a ton of confidence in him as our starting quarterback.”
Berry also did not reflect much on the notion that the Browns have not received much from acquiring Watson over the first two years of the quarterback’s contract.
“When we made the trade, we really looked at it as, hey, this is something that we’ll evaluate like a 10-year time horizon,” Berry said. “Obviously we want him on the field more often than he’s been. He can’t help the shoulder injuries this year, but we’re really pleased with him. He’s very talented, he’s very hardworking, he’s adaptable and we really feel good about it moving forward.”
The Browns need a new offensive coordinator and whoever it is will have to help make sure Cleveland maximizes Watson’s talents going forward.
