The Cleveland Browns are all-in on Deshaun Watson in 2024, and the first priority is the quarterback’s health.
Watson underwent season-ending shoulder surgery on his throwing shoulder in November 2023 and has been rehabbing every day since. Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reported on Monday, February 19, that Watson is on the cusp of throwing the football for the first time in three months.
“[Watson] will begin throwing soon, a league source told Cleveland.com,” Cabot wrote. “Watson, who only had the fractured glenoid bone repaired and not his strained rotator cuff, a source told Cleveland.com, returned to the UCLA weight room this week, which is a big step in his comeback bid.”
Cabot added that the quarterback attended a Super Bowl party in Las Vegas leading up to the game nine days ago and is currently on vacation in Rome. However, Watson will soon return stateside and “soon will be back at it and preparing to throw.”
Browns Want Joe Flacco Back at QB Next Season, May Have to Settle for Mitch Trubisky
With Watson set to begin throwing to teammates as early as March, the Browns have work to do considering who will serve as his backup quarterback.
Cabot wrote on Sunday that she believes the team will attempt to extend Joe Flacco ahead of the start of free agency, though the ball is in Flacco’s court.
“I certainly think the Browns will try to extend Flacco’s contract before he hits the market on March 13, but he’ll also want to test the waters and see what’s out there,” Cabot wrote. “He’ll get more interest this offseason than he did last year, when he had no legitimate offers until the Browns called after Deshaun Watson suffered the fractured shoulder socket in Week 10.”
Operating under the assumption that Flacco may not be available to the Browns in 2024, Toni Grossi of 850 ESPN Cleveland suggested that former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky will be at the top of the list of potential replacements.
“First of all, Trubisky was highly regarded by the Paul DePodesta and Andrew Berry regime when he came out of the draft. And also there’s the Ken Dorsey link,” Grossi reported on February 16. “Trubisky went from Chicago to Buffalo as the backup, with Brian Daboll the coordinator at the time. Dorsey was the quarterbacks coach. I think Trubisky will be the candidate from Ken Dorsey.”
Deshaun Watson Gives New Browns OC Ken Dorsey Stamp of Approval
When Watson and whoever his backup turns out to be return to work with the Browns this spring, they will do so under new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey.
Dorsey previously served as the offensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills and worked with perennial MVP candidate Josh Allen.
“I’m super excited,” Watson said on his “QB Unplugged” podcast on February 9. “First off, a former player, especially at the collegiate level, but a little bit in the pros. I know he bounced around a little bit, but he still had that quarterback experience. … I heard his press conference, too. That was dope to hear what he said about making me one of those top quarterbacks. That’s the key.”
