The AFC North had a rough go of things at the quarterback position last season. Pittsburgh Steelers QB Kenny Pickett sustained a high-ankle sprain that resulted in surgery and effectively ended his season as Mason Rudolph got hot and retained the starting job. Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow had a thumb injury that ended his season, and Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson had a shoulder injury that sent him to the Reserve/Injured list for the season in mid-November. Watson recently offered an update on a podcast appearance, and all things seem on track for him to be back for the 2024 season.
“The situation is good,” Watson said on QB Unplugged posted on YouTube on Friday. “We’re in a great spot, right where we need to be. We have plenty of time to ramp up the throwing sessions and things like that, but everything is going pretty smooth.”
It has been a rocky start to his tenure with the Browns following their massive trade deal and guaranteed money they gave him in a contract extension. He had to sit out much of his first season in 2022 still dealing with sexual misconduct allegations, and then the injury ended his 2023 season. In total he has played 12 games for them with a record of 8-4. Given that rocky start, he really needs to be back for Week 1, which it appears he is on track to do.
He was asked if he feels like he is in a good spot with the throwing he has been able to do so far.
“Most definitely,” Watson said. “Early stages, too. Been what, a week, two weeks, the new phase as we call it in the PT rehabbing world…We done moved past the recovery, we done moved past the strength phase, and now we’re in the performance where we’re getting ready to kind of throw and throw to receivers.”
With it being early April, it is a good bet he won’t be fully ready to resume playing for the beginning of the offseason training program. They have their first session of voluntary workouts on April 15, and then the bulk of the OTAs begin May 21. It doesn’t seem like he is on track to be 100 percent for those sessions, but given his words, he could potentially be ready for the first mandatory minicamp on June 11 with an excellent shot to be ready for training camp.
The AFC North should once again be one of the toughest and most competitive divisions in football. On top of Burrow, Watson, and Lamar Jackson, the Pittsburgh Steelers now have Russell Wilson and Justin Fields to help them compete in the division with the talent level at quarterback.
