Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry has high hopes for quarterback Deshaun Watson, and it has little to do with the club replacing offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt with Ken Dorsey this offseason.
I think the biggest thing is staying on the field and keeping (him) on the field,” Berry said of Watson while speaking with Zac Jackson of The Athletic at the Senior Bowl
“Every year we really try to do as much self-evaluation as possible on every part of the operation. So, in good years and bad years, (we) will probably always tinker to some extent with what we think is best.
But we’re especially excited when it comes to Deshaun. We just want to make sure he’s healthy.”Watson played fewer than six full games this season before being sidelined with a shoulder injury in November.
He and others then watched veteran Joe Flacco give the Browns their best quarterback play of the season as they led the club to a playoff berth.
Of course, Watson missed the first 11 games of the 2022 season while serving a suspension due to allegations of sexual misconduct during massage sessions.
In 12 starts with the Browns, he completed 204 of 341 pass attempts (59.8%) for 2,217 yards with 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions:During stints as quarterbacks coach and later offensive coordinator with the Carolina Panthers and Buffalo Bills, Dorsey helped signal-callers Cam Newton and Josh Allen emerge as MVP-caliber starters.
If Dorsey can’t get similar production from Watson next season, the Browns could theoretically consider moving on from their current QB1 before the 2025 NFL Draft. “He was very creative in terms of what kind of offensive system he could implement,” Berry said of Dorsey.
“Even though it was what you might call a distributed, dual-threat quarterback (attack), it was a much different situation in Carolina than it was in Buffalo. We think he will do a very good job in the coordinator role for us.”
