Cleveland Browns GM Reveals Major Update On Deshaun Watson

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson is recovering from shoulder surgery, but by all accounts, he seems to be making great progress.

Browns general manager Andrew Berry provided a recent update on Watson’s status, and things appear to be going well.

“Deshaun was throwing up to 40 yards this week,” Watson said, via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “He’s in a pretty good spot. … He’s progressing as appropriate. We’re really, really pleased with the work that he’s put in and really pleased with how the shoulder’s responding, but we’re still in the middle of the rehab process, so we know that it could take different left and right turns, but we’re pretty optimistic in terms of what we’ve seen so far.”

So, essentially, Berry is expressing cautious optimism about Watson.

The general expectation is that Watson will be ready for Week 1, as Watson himself has previously said that he will be prepared for the season opener.

Watson underwent surgery back in November, so if he is able to return in September, that would be a 10-month recovery, which seems like plenty of time.

Cleveland initially acquired the 28-year-old in a blockbuster trade with the Houston Texans in March 2022 and proceeded to hand him a fully guaranteed $230 million deal, which was unprecedented.

The early returns have not exactly been good, as Watson has only played in 12 games in two seasons for the Browns. He served an 11-game suspension in 2022, and this past year, he bowed out after six contests due to the shoulder injury.

During the time he was on the field in 2023, Deshaun Watson threw for 1,115 yards, seven touchdowns and four interceptions while completing 61.4 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 84.3.