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Kevin Stefanski, Ken Dorsey excited to talk 'big picture' with Deshaun Watson
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- Kevin Stefanski, Ken Dorsey excited to talk 'big picture' with Deshaun Watson
INDIANAPOLIS — Browns coach Kevin Stefanski and new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey are taking a trip to Los Angeles next week. The reason for their trip is to visit their quarterback, Deshaun Watson .
The trip coincides with the time Watson will start throwing after undergoing surgery on his throwing shoulder in November. Stefanski's aware of that fact, as well.
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"He's coming along," Stefanski said Wednesday afternoon at the NFL combine. "I know he is going to start throwing here shortly. He's hitting all of his milestones. Ken and I are going to go out and see him next week and spend some time, not talk football, just catch up. Won't see him throw, but just want to check in on him. But I've texted him almost every day, so he's in a good place."
Stefanski spoke a day after general manager Andrew Berry confirmed Watson will resume throwing for the first time since the Nov. 21 surgery "next month." Although "next month" technically starts Friday, the timeline remains a week or so from now.
Still, the trip west provides an opportunity for Watson to meet Dorsey face to face for the first time since the new offensive coordinator was hired in late January. The two have spoken since the hire was made, but not met in person.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski talks with quarterback Deshaun Watson during practice on May 24, 2023, in Berea.
The addition of Dorsey means there will be a difference in offensive philosophy from what Stefanski and former coordinator Alex Van Pelt ran with Watson the previous two seasons. What that philosophy looks like remains the great mystery.
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"I think that'll be really more evident over time," Stefanski said. "I would tell you just from my experience in the offensive staff room over the last few weeks, again, to have different ideas, not just from Ken, but from all of our new coaches and our current coaches. I think these are the really fun times for us as we put things back together and, as silly as it may sound, just changing maybe terminology or changing aiming points or changing a technique.
"Those are all things that we're looking at and trying to figure out what's the best way to move forward. Less so of, 'Here's how we've always done it, what's the best way to move forward?'"
Stefanski stressed they "can't talk football, but we'll talk big picture" during their visit with Watson.
The questions, though, continue to revert back to how the influx of new offensive coaches, starting with Dorsey, will accomplish that feat. It can't help but provide a benefit to the Browns that the two quarterbacks Dorsey has primarily worked with during his NFL coaching career are former Carolina Panthers star Cam Newton and current Bills star Josh Allen .
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Both of those quarterbacks had some of their best seasons working with Dorsey, including Newton's NFL MVP season in 2015 and Allen's MVP runner-up season in 2020. Will he do it again, this time with the quarterback in whom the Browns have so much invested?
Bills offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey talks with quarterback Josh Allen before a preseason game against the Colts in Orchard Park, N.Y., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023.
It starts with getting Watson on the same page as his new offensive coordinator. That's where the past experiences with Newton and Allen come into play.
"Yeah, that's definitely part of it," Stefanski said. "With Ken's experience, Ken has had a lot of experience with a bunch of different quarterbacks but, notably, like you mentioned, Josh Allen, Cam Newton. As we all know that the game in this NFL, it is evolving constantly year to year.
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"So I think Ken is a person with his experience, with what he's been exposed to, I feel really confident with him running our meetings, making sure that we're staying ahead."
Chris Easterling can be reached 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: Kevin Stefanski, Ken Dorsey to talk 'big picture' with Deshaun Watson
