Make or break for Deshaun Watson and the Browns

Deshaun Watson is a player with a player with a lot of negativity on his name. But on his day, no doubt he can be one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.

He’s been confirmed to as the starting QB for the Cleveland Browns in Friday night’s preseason home game versus the Washington Commanders, which will mark the start of a make or break year for the player, and the team, in 2023.

Watson served an 11-game suspension last season for multiple violations of the NFL’s personal conduct policy. When he made his Browns debut in December, he played for the first time in 700 days.

He completed just 58.2 percent of his passes in six starts for the Browns at the end of last season, and his return to the league was somewhat erratic, especially given all the bad energy surrounding his name.

So can Watson turn it around this year? Let’s have a look at what he needs to do…

Will this move to Cleveland work out in the long run?

We’ve only a year into this trade, but already the pressure is well and truly on for the former Clemson quarterback.

Browns fans expect, and probably deserve, more from their team. Years of franchise turmoil, a 1-31 record over a two-season stretch between 2017 and 2018, numerous number one overall picks but little progress to shout about. Their future is in the hands of the polarizing Watson, who has an abundance of talent around him on both sides of the field, to deliver.

The Browns sacrificed an incredible amount of resource to take Watson off the Houston Texans last year, making him one of the best paid players of all-time while also giving up multiple first-round picks for his services.

The team will be praying that a full offseason of eligibility and familiarity with working in his new surroundings, accompanied by the offensive additions of wide receivers Elijah Moore and draft pick Cedric Tillman, will help Watson get back to the level they need him to perform at in order to return to the postseason contention.

The AFC North is looking incredibly tight going into the 2023 season, with all of the Bengals, Ravens and Steelers looking stronger than they were 12 months ago. Cleveland finished the season 7-10 and fourth in the division last year, and with three of its first four games being against division opponents this year, they can’t get left behind.

At Houston he was a special player with a special talent. We’ll be watching with keen intent how Watson gets on, and while preseason games don’t necessarily matter, his performance could set the tone for what is to come this year.