WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — Deshaun Watson's first comments of Browns training camp on Friday raised an eyebrow or two. Specifically when it came to what adjustment he was specifically trying to make in his third year on the team.
"I think honestly it's really just blocking out all the bull (expletive), honestly, outside," Watson said during a somewhat defiant 17-minute press conference at The Greenbrier on Friday. "It was tough coming in two years, different environment, different team, different all that. … So I think blocking out all the noise and focusing on me and focusing on what I need to do to be the best Deshaun Watson I can be for myself, my family and my teammates."
A day later , Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam stood at the same microphone stand. There they found themselves asked about the quarterback whom they invested a fully-guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract in order to get him to agree to the 2022 trade that brought him to Cleveland from the Houston Texans .
Do they support the mindset Watson's bringing into his third season with the Browns? Do they want him to just "block out the noise?"
"Look, I think Deshaun's trying really hard and I think you think blocking out the noise is something really important to him," Dee Haslam said Saturday. "So I think he was probably emotional when he said that. I mean, that's something that I can see in the, in the current situation saying that. But I think Deshaun is really focused this year and I think he's much more comfortable and confident."
Watson's time since the March 18, 2022, trade that brought him to the Browns has been up and down to say the least — perhaps mostly down, some of it by his own doing and some by forces not necessarily in his control.
The 11-game suspension that essentially derailed his first season in Cleveland was his own doing. It stemmed from personal conduct policy violations because of more than two dozen allegations by women of sexual assault and sexual misconduct during massage appointments.
Watson then missed 11 games last season because of injuries sustained on the field. That includes a broken glenoid sustained during a Nov. 12 win at Baltimore resulting in season-ending shoulder surgery.
The result: Watson has made 12 starts in two years. The Browns are 8-4 in those starts, but he's completed 59.8% percent of his passes for 2,217 yards with 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
"Listen, the injury was terrible," Jimmy Haslam said, "but maybe in a different sort of way, being out in ( Los Angeles for rehab) ... he was away from everything. I think we all understand the weather out there. And when he came back in April ... (he) had a much different mindset than we'd seen before. Hopefully we'll get a great year of play out of him because I know he wants that and we want to see that."
The Browns, truthfully, need to see that from Watson. A year ago — despite him only starting six of the first 10 games, and finishing five of them — Cleveland found a way to go 11-6 and earn its third playoff berth since returning to the NFL in 1999.
A defense that finished No. 1 in the league in multiple categories certainly helped mitigate his loss. So, too, was the discovery of veteran quarterback Joe Flacco , who essentially came off his couch to win four of his five December starts and help the Browns get to the postseason.
Now, that defense is already battling some key injuries with both defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson (arthroscopic knee surgery) and cornerback Greg Newsome II (hamstring injury) out for some time. Flacco, meanwhile, signed as a free agent with the Colts after it became apparent the Browns were looking for a different backup quarterback.
So Watson finds the spotlight where it's been ever since he arrived in Cleveland, shining right on him. The Haslams, though, believe he's primed to make the third time the charm.
"I think he attended every practice this spring, might have missed one, which was great for him," Jimmy Haslam said. "He's worked hard. He told us he's in the best shape he's ever been in. So, we're excited to see what happens next week, get the pads on and see how he does. But he's in a very good frame of mind as I think you all saw (Friday)."
Chris Easterling can be at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Jimmy and Dee Haslam see focused Deshaun Watson with Browns
