CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Deshaun Watson’s surgically repaired right shoulder is on schedule to allow him to return in time for the start of the upcoming season.
“Shoulder’s great,” Watson said Thursday. “I’ll be ready for Week 1 for sure.”
Watson, who is an investor in Lefty’s Cheesesteaks, was on hand for the grand opening of the first Ohio location in Cleveland Heights.
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski was also on hand for the event and sat down with Watson for a segment on Watson’s Lockerverse podcast, which was arranged during Stefanski’s visit to Los Angeles along with new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey earlier this year.
“I just came for the cheesesteaks,” Stefanski joked as he left with a bag full of food.
“It was a great opportunity for him to be able to come hang out with me and Quincy,” Watson said. “And then the visit with me and Dorsey was awesome and Kevin also, he was there too, and we just continue to build that. So since I've been out here, I met with Dorsey a couple times and we can tell that bond is going to continue to grow.”
Watson’s progress report has to be a relief to Stefanski and the Browns.
“I’ll be better than I was before in Week 1,” Watson said. “So I'm very confident in the roles of the doctors. Like I said before, Dr. ElAttrache and his team, I’m following their lead and just all the research that I've done and then just my work and preparation. I put my whole life into this and I want to make sure I come back even better than before.”
Watson, who missed three games in four weeks previously with a rotator cuff strain, suffered a glenoid fracture in his right throwing shoulder during a 33-31 come from behind victory November 12 in Baltimore that ended his season.
Watson underwent surgery a few weeks later and has recently begun a light throwing program.
“The process is day to day and we’ve just got to take it one step at a time,” Watson said. “We can't do anything too crazy. We can't jump the gun and try to do too much. The biggest thing right now through this process is load management and just continue to find ways to just get better and just stay on that course. So I'm trusting all the doctors, the P.T., Dr. (Neal) ElAttrache and his team out in L.A. with the Cleveland Browns and we just follow their [lead] and we'll be ready by Week 1.”
Stefanski and Dorsey weren’t the only ones to visit Watson in Los Angeles. New backup quarterback Jameis Winston, signed to a one-year contract last month, paid Watson a visit and it took little time for the two to bond.
“Jameis is a great guy, a great person, a better person than whatever he do outside of just being himself,” Watson said. “The football is just secondary. But being around him, his fellowship, his leadership, his command of just being very positive and then just being able to have him being the former No. 1 pick, being around so many great quarterbacks and I just need that energy and want that energy around me. So once we figured out [Andrew Berry] signed him, I got his number and I wanted to just ask him questions. He came out to LA and visited me and we had a great time.”
Berry also added another weapon for Watson to throw to by acquiring receiver Jerry Jeudy from the Broncos in March and then giving Jeudy a three-year contract extension worth up to $52.5 million.
“It was amazing,” Watson said of the trade. “I knew kind of since I pretty much got traded that was an opportunity that AB wanted to try to get done and it took a little minute, but he got it done and I think it's going to be a great addition with Amari and Elijah. I mean, those three guys already been together this offseason. Very similar types of guys from the same similar area. So it's going to be fun to be able to toss the ball around to those guys.”
Stymied by an 11-game suspension in 2022 followed by injuries in 2023, Watson is hopeful he’ll be healthy in 2024.
“I put everything into winning that championship for this organization, [and] for the city of Cleveland,” Watson said. “And it's very similar to how I grew up back in Gainesville and very passionate about that. And I know things kind of get narrated the wrong way and it's not coming from me, but things like that, it happens. And I just want them to know that I'm very passionate about being in this city. I'm passionate about the dawg pound. I'm passionate about getting out there on the field and being a success so we can bring that championship back to Cleveland, where it belongs. And I'm going to do whatever I need to on and off the field to be able to have that goal achieved.”