BEREA, Ohio (AP) \u2014 Deshaun Watson knows he can\u2019t change the public perception of him or the results of his first four seasons with the Cleveland Browns.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why the embattled 10-year veteran quarterback is focusing on winning back the Browns\u2019 starting job, something that seemed unfathomable a year ago, when Watson was recovering from tearing Achilles tendon twice and it appeared he would never play for Cleveland again.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, I can\u2019t control what people support. I think that\u2019s their own opinion,\u201d Watson said Wednesday, speaking to reporters for the first time in nearly two years. \u201cI think that all I can do is just put out the best person I am, showcase who I am as a person, as a player, as a teammate, and what I represent as an individual. So outside of that, I can\u2019t focus on what the outside is saying.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Watson is named the starter for the Browns\u2019 opener on Sept. 13 at Jacksonville, it will be 693 days between starts. His last game was in Week 7 of the 2024 season against the Cincinnati Bengals, when he ruptured his right Achilles tendon during the second quarter on a draw play.<\/p>\n
Watson tore the tendon again two months later and was declared out for the 2025 season. Owner Jimmy Haslam said during last year\u2019s owners meetings that the Browns \u201ctook a big swing and miss\u201d when they sent three first-round picks to Houston for Watson in 2022 and signed him to a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million deal that could end up as the worst contract in NFL history.<\/p>\n
Despite Haslam\u2019s proclamation, Watson still believed he would get another chance after conversations with the front office, Haslam and his wife and co-owner, Dee.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe relationship is great. Dee and Jimmy were at my wedding. We talk all the time. He calls me whenever,\u201d Watson said.
\nWatson and Sanders remain in tight competition for the starting job<\/p>\n
Watson and Shedeur Sanders have appeared evenly matched during offseason workouts. Coach Todd Monken had hoped to name a starter before training camp, but said, \u201cBoth played well enough to earn the right to compete to start.\u201d<\/p>\n
Watson likes Monken\u2019s system because it resembles what he played under during his five seasons with the Houston Texans from 2017 to 2021.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a lot of responsibility on the quarterback, and I think that\u2019s what I had in Houston with Bill O\u2019Brien. It was pretty much that Tom Brady tree and everything relied on the quarterback operation,\u201d Watson said. \u201cHe\u2019s given a lot of responsibility to us, and you\u2019ve got to own the responsibilities, situations, and decisions on the field. That\u2019s something I\u2019m very comfortable with.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked about the quarterback competition, Sanders downplayed any indication that there is one.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the way y\u2019all look at things is different than how we look at things,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cY\u2019all look at it as like a competition. That\u2019s really nothing I\u2019m just focused on. I\u2019m focused on developing as a player, like doing everything, getting as comfortable as I can in the offense in the scheme, and playing with that confidence I had.\u201d
\nNow a married man, Watson says he has changed his life<\/p>\n
No matter what happens during training camp and the upcoming season, Watson said he\u2019s in a great place mentally. He credits his wife, Jilly Anais, whom he married last July, for the change in outlook.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the biggest thing is, I\u2019m an introvert now, so I don\u2019t really get into all the outside stuff and noise as I used to,\u201d he said. \u201cI used to be a social person back in the day and kind of more open, but now I\u2019m just kind of watching my surroundings and my moves and just kind of focus on the things that I need to focus on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Watson\u2019s biggest focus going into the season is playing all 17 games. In 2022, he missed the first 11 games because of a league suspension resulting from his alleged sexual misconduct during massage therapy sessions. He made six starts in 2023 before a season-ending shoulder injury and started seven last year before the Achilles tendon injury.<\/p>\n
Watson is 9-10 with Cleveland with 19 touchdown passes, 12 interceptions and an 80.7 passer rating.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t look in the past. I can\u2019t look in the rearview mirror. Obviously, you know those situations, and you have those experiences, but at the same time, you\u2019ve got to keep pushing forward. If I keep stepping forward and standing 10 toes down, then I\u2019ll be good,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BEREA, Ohio (AP) \u2014 Deshaun Watson knows he can\u2019t change the public perception of him or the results of his first four seasons with the Cleveland Browns. That\u2019s why the embattled 10-year veteran quarterback is focusing on winning back the Browns\u2019 starting job, something that seemed unfathomable a year ago, when Watson was recovering from … Continue reading Deshaun Watson isn\u2019t worried about how he\u2019s perceived as he competes for Browns\u2019 starting job<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1452],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1514891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":true,"date":"2026-06-13 10:59:43","action":"change-status","newStatus":"trash","terms":[0],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1514891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1514891"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1514891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1514892,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1514891\/revisions\/1514892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1514891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1514891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1514891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}