Deshaun Watson’s play on the football field during his tenure with the Houston Texans rightfully earned him the reputation as one of the best young quarterbacks in the game. It’s precisely the reason there was a stunning bidding war for his services a year ago, the Cleveland Browns ultimately securing the prize with a five-year, fully guaranteed $230 million contract.
And that’s not even going into what they had to pay the Texans in draft capital just to get him. But they were willing to pay the price because of their belief that he was still capable of being that quarterback. And that having that quarterback on this roster would make them a Super Bowl contender.
But for Watson, he doesn’t see the conversation as getting back to his old self at all.
“I don’t want to return as that guy in Houston, I want to be better than that guy”, he told reporters yesterday, via the team’s website. “I’m not the same guy. So, I feel like I’ve evolved to a new level, and I’m ready to be able to show that”.
Asked to clarify that he said he wanted to be better than the quarterback he was in Houston, he responded, “Of course, and I know I can be”.
As the quarterback of the Texans, Watson was 31-28 as a starter, though 27-16 in his first three seasons—the 2020 season was an utter disaster for the franchise as a whole. He made three consecutive Pro Bowls and would have been a shoo-in for Rookie of the Year in 2017 had he not gotten hurt and was able to play more than six games.
In 60 games, he went 1,186-for-1,748 passing (6.78 percent) for 14,539 yards with 104 touchdowns to 39 interceptions and a 104.5 quarterback rating. Statistically, there was no question that he was among the best in the game.
He didn’t look the part in 2022, though that’s not a surprise given that he sat out the 2021 season and then served an 11-game suspension last year stemming from dozens of allegations of sexual misconduct—of which the Browns were aware when they acquired him.
“Last year was a tricky time, where I was learning everything, but I don’t want to just get caught up on, ‘Hey, Houston this, Houston that’”, Watson said. “I had a lot of fun, a lot of success in Houston, but I want to have that success and start something new in Cleveland”.
Of course, it’s not like his time in Houston ended well, nor should he remember it fondly as the place where he faced the allegations that turned the public (outside of Cleveland) against him. The reason he didn’t play in 2021 is because he wanted to be traded.
Can Watson actually be a better quarterback than he was with the Texans? In theory, sure, why not? He still had plenty to learn about playing the position by the time he played his last snap there, so in an objective sense there is a lot of room to grow. But will he actually reach those levels?
