Less popular than he was three years ago, Watson sizes up as a Draft Day bargain. Cleveland's signal-caller was juuust good enough at the end of 2022 -- 24.8 Fantasy points over his final two games -- for us to be mildly optimistic. Offseason additions to the receiving corps and a strong O-line help his cause, as does Watson's modest per-game rush average (29.2) landing close to his career average (31.1). It's not all good news as Watson posted career-worsts in 2022 in attempts per game, completion rate, yards per attempt and TD rate, and in four years, play caller Kevin Stefanski has never dialed up pass plays more than 54% of the time. Watson is a solid bounce-back candidate who might not throw as much as you'd like but does have a good enough supporting cast to land competitive numbers (especially with an easier-than-expected schedule). He's safest as the 10th, 11th or 12th quarterback off the board.
Browns' Deshaun Watson: Not slated to start Sunday
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Watson (shoulder) is not in line to play Sunday against the Ravens, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
As a result, Dorian Thompson-Robinson is expected to start at QB for the Browns on Sunday. Watson will thus target a potential return to the starting lineup next weekend against the 49ers.
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Browns' Deshaun Watson: Looks set to play Sunday
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Watson (shoulder) remains listed as questionable but is expected to start in Sunday's game against the Ravens, Kimberley A. Martin of ESPN reports.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski and the Browns' training staff will monitor Watson's throwing in pregame warmups early Sunday before officially giving him the green light, according to Martin. Watson didn't throw in practice all week as he rested his throwing arm. As a precaution, the Browns promoted PJ Walker from the practice squad, and he'll presumably serve as the backup to Dorian Thompson-Robinson in the event Watson doesn't get cleared to play. Official clarity on Watson's status will come when the Browns release their inactive list 90 minutes prior to Sunday's 1 p.m. ET kickoff.
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Browns' Deshaun Watson: Bust Alert (Start/Sit)
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Watson did a great job against the Titans in Week 3 with 25.2 Fantasy points, but most quarterbacks will beat up on Tennessee's secondary. This is a step up in competition, and we should see Watson struggle like he did in Week 2 against the Steelers when he was held to 13.6 Fantasy points. The Ravens are allowing an average of just 15.1 Fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks on the season, and no quarterback has more than 19.4 points against them in three outings. Watson scored 14.6 Fantasy points against Baltimore in Week 15 last year, and in three career meetings against the Ravens, his best outing was 16.7 points in 2020 with Houston.
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Browns' Deshaun Watson: Questionable for Sunday's game
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The Browns list Watson (shoulder) as questionable for Sunday's game against the Ravens.
Watson, who was a limited participant at practices Wednesday and Thursday, did some light throwing Friday but had his reps capped for the third day in a row, per Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram. Head coach Kevin Stefanski previously said that he's hopeful Watson will be available this weekend, despite the fact that the signal-caller is carrying an injury designation into the weekend. Fortunately for those considering Watson in Week 4 fantasy lineups, the Browns kick off at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, leaving fantasy managers with options to pivot to in the event Watson is inactive. If Watson is ruled out or available only in a backup capacity versus Baltimore, Dorian Thompson-Robinson would draw his first NFL start.
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Browns' Deshaun Watson: Practice reps capped again
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Watson (shoulder) was a limited practice participant Thursday.
Though the Browns listed Watson as a limited participant for the second day in a row, he at least appeared to take a step forward in his recovery Thursday by doing some throwing in the portion of practice that was open to the media, per Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal. Easterling notes that Watson wasn't throwing at full velocity, however, with most of his throws being dump-off passes to running backs or Browns staffers. In any case, the Browns maintain that Watson will be ready to start Sunday against the Ravens, even though his right shoulder is still a bit sore after he took a hard hit in last week's win over the Titans. Friday's injury report will reveal whether or not Watson enters Sunday's contest with a designation.
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Browns' Deshaun Watson: Limited practice Wednesday
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Watson (shoulder) was officially listed as a limited participant in practice Wednesday, Scott Petrak of The Chronicle-Telegram reports.
Petrak relayed earlier Wednesday that Watson would be resting his right shoulder in practice, but the quarterback was apparently able to take part in enough on-field work to get the "limited" tag. Throwing 102 passes over Cleveland's first three games has led to some shoulder fatigue for Watson, but he's not believed to be at risk of missing Sunday's home game against the Ravens.
Watson didn't practice Wednesday due to a right shoulder injury, Scott Petrak of The Chronicle-Telegram reports.
Per Petrak, Watson was resting his throwing shoulder, but the quarterback isn't in danger of sitting out Sunday against the Ravens. While Petrak's report is encouraging, Watson's practice participation Thursday and Friday will still bear monitoring. After facing Baltimore, the Browns will have a bye Week 5, which will give Watson some added time to properly rest his shoulder.
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Browns' Deshaun Watson: Dismantles Titans
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Watson completed 27 of 33 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday's 27-3 win over the Titans. He added four rushes for 16 yards.
Watson had been shaky in his first two games of the season, as he struggled with both accuracy and turnovers. He largely avoided those problems Sunday -- he fumbled once on a broken play, but the ball was recovered -- and highlighted his performance with touchdown throws of 19 and 43 yards. The Titans have struggled in coverage to begin the year, but Watson took advantage of the positive matchup and should have renewed confidence heading into a Week 4 matchup against the division-rival Ravens.
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Browns' Deshaun Watson: QBs to Start
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The Bengals have a revamped secondary with safeties Jessie Bates and Von Bell gone, and we'll see how they hold up against the Browns on the road. I'm expecting Watson to post a decent stat line this week, and hopefully he can play at a high level again and look like his best days in Houston. While that's hard to expect, he might surprise Fantasy managers this week in a potential shootout with Joe Burrow. Watson should be considered a low-end No. 1 Fantasy quarterback in Week 1.
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Browns' Deshaun Watson: To play in preseason finale
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Coach Kevin Stefanski said Sunday that Watson and the Browns' starters are slated to play early in Saturday's preseason finale in Kansas City, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
Watson played only a single possession in his lone preseason appearance thus far, but Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports that most starters will play 20-25 snaps in the finale. Still, that doesn't preclude Watson from leaving the field before the rest of the starting offense, especially if Cleveland's coaching staff wants to get a more extended look at Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who has flashed in preseason action so far.
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Browns' Deshaun Watson: Perfect in brief appearance
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Watson completed all three of his passes for 12 yards and gained 20 rushing yards on three carries in Friday's preseason loss to the Commanders.
The Browns used their first-team offense for only one possession, but Watson looked sharp when he was on the field and nearly led his team to a touchdown, only for John Kelly to get stuffed at the goal line on fourth down. After a tough introduction to Cleveland in 2022, Watson should be able to rebound this season, but after sitting out the entire 2021 campaign, the 27-year-old has to prove he's still capable of posting the kinds of fantasy numbers he routinely rang up over his final three years in Houston.
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Browns' Deshaun Watson: Draws start Friday
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Watson is slated to start Friday's preseason game against the Commanders, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
Watson isn't sure how much action he'll see Friday, but after not playing in last week's Hall of Fame Game against Jets, the Browns' top quarterback will see his first exhibition snaps of 2023. Given that Watson is set to take the field Friday, he'll presumably log some snaps alongside most of the team's other healthy starters.
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Browns' Deshaun Watson: Not playing in HOF Game
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Watson won't play in Thursday's Hall of Fame Game against the Jets, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports.
Neither will top backup Joshua Dobbs, who is trying to fend off young QBs Kellen Mond and Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Coach Kevin Stefanski named Mond his starter for the Hall of Fame Game, though it won't be surprising if Thompson-Robinson ends up playing more snaps. Watson, meanwhile, is locked in as the Week 1 starter and doesn't figure to get much playing time (if any) this preseason.
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Browns' Deshaun Watson: Bust Alert (Start/Sit)
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Watson was fantastic in Week 17 at Washington with 27 Fantasy points, and he did it with just 9-of-18 passing for 169 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, along with 31 rushing yards. It was his first game with more than 18 Fantasy points in his five appearances this season, and we'll see if he can build on that performance this week at Pittsburgh. But this matchup is daunting since the Steelers have allowed just one quarterback to score more than 15 Fantasy points since Week 10, which was Joe Burrow in Week 11. Granted, the level of competition was mediocre -- Andy Dalton, Matt Ryan, Marcus Mariota, Sam Darnold, Derek Carr and Tyler Huntley twice -- but I'm not expecting Watson to have a big outing in Pittsburgh in Week 18.
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Browns' Deshaun Watson: QBs to Sit
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The Commanders have held their past five opposing quarterbacks to 19 Fantasy points or less, and only two quarterbacks have scored at least 20 points against Washington since Week 4. Watson has scored 18 Fantasy points or less in all four starts with the Browns, and he's been held to 161 passing yards or less in three of those games. There's no way you can trust him in your Fantasy championship in Week 17.
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Browns' Deshaun Watson: QBs to Sit
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Watson continues to look better after three starts, but he's still scored 18 Fantasy points or less in each outing. He could be playing in bad weather this week against the Saints, with the forecast calling for heavy wind and snow. This feels like a game where the Browns will lean on Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, which is what happened in Week 15 against Baltimore, and Watson only passed for 161 yards and one touchdown. The Saints also have allowed just one quarterback to score more than 19 Fantasy points since Week 6, which was Brady when he had a miraculous comeback in Week 13.
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Browns' Deshaun Watson: QBs to Sit
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Watson improved in his second game as the starter for the Browns, going from 13 Fantasy points in Week 13 at Houston to 18 points in Week 14 at Cincinnati. This will be his first home game in Cleveland, and hopefully that helps his performance. But he also has to face a tough opponent in the Ravens, who have held eight of their past nine opposing quarterbacks to 18 Fantasy points or less. Amari Cooper (hip) is playing at less than 100 percent, which doesn't help, and Watson hasn't done enough yet to warrant trusting him in a tough matchup like this.
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Browns' Deshaun Watson: Throws first TD as a Brown
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Watson completed 26 of 42 passes for 276 yards, one touchdown and one interception in Sunday's 23-10 loss to the Bengals. He added 33 yards on six rushing attempts.
After a shaky Browns debut last week, Watson looked marginally more comfortable in his second appearance. His first two passes went for gains of 18 and 13 yards, and he finished the first quarter with completions on all four of his attempts, though neither team produced any points. Watson's first touchdown pass in a Cleveland uniform came in the third quarter, when he found tight end David Njoku from 13 yards out, but Watson was picked off on the following possession. He's still shaking off the rust from his extended layoff, which will make Watson a risky fantasy option in Week 15 against the Ravens as many leagues begin their playoffs.
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Browns' Deshaun Watson: Bust Alert (Start/Sit)
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Watson looked like a quarterback who hadn't played in almost two years in Week 13 at Houston. He was 12-of-22 passing for 131 yards, no touchdowns and an interception, and he rushed for just 21 yards. He should improve in his second start in Week 14 at Cincinnati, but this is a tough matchup to trust him after he scored just five Fantasy points against the Texans. Cincinnati is No. 4 in fewest Fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks and just held Patrick Mahomes to 20 points in Week 13. Mahomes and actually Jacoby Brissett in Week 8 are the lone quarterbacks with more than 20 Fantasy points against the Bengals this year, so maybe Watson can repeat what Brissett did in that matchup (278 passing yards and a touchdown, along with 12 rushing yards and a touchdown, with a lost fumble). However, I'd be hesitant to start Watson in most one-quarterback leagues this week. He needs to prove himself first before Fantasy managers can trust him again.
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Browns' Deshaun Watson: Admits being out of sync
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Watson acknowledged that he dealt with rhythm and timing issues in his season debut last week against the Texans after he missed the first 11 games of the campaign while serving a suspension, Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal reports. "All of that stuff's gotta come back and, like I said last week, I don't know when it's gonna come back," Watson said. "I don't know if it was gonna be last week, this week. My job is to just keep getting better and when it clicks it, it clicks and everyone will feel that."
Watson underwhelmed last week in his first regular-season game in 700 days, as he sat out the entire 2021 season before Houston traded him to Cleveland over the offseason. In his second start with Cleveland this Sunday against the Bengals, Watson may not return to the Pro Bowl-caliber form he displayed prior to his nearly two years away from the game, but the quarterback seems confident that he'll gradually get more comfortable. Watson said he was able to get a feel for the "speed of the game and how defenses adjust" in his season debut, but there were noticeable timing issues with receivers, as he often throw short of or behind targets. Watson will get the opportunity to further acclimate Sunday, and head coach Kevin Stefanski reiterated earlier this week that he has no plans to turn the offense back over to Jacoby Brissett in what will be a matchup critical to Cleveland's fading playoff hopes.
