Deshaun Watson says everything is beautiful -- his journey from shoulder surgery, his offseason, and his new offense. (TheLandOnDemand)
You must have an active subscription to read this story.
Click Here to subscribe Now!
Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
One week before the start of his third Browns training camp, the state of Deshaun Watson is “great … I’m in a great state,” he said at his second annual High School 7-on-7 tournament at Berea-Midpark High School.
His last throws on the field at minicamp in mid-June were the best he’s made since his shoulder surgery in November, and in periodic workouts since then, he reports, “There haven’t been any setbacks or anything that’s holding me back from going forth.”
He indicated he will be a full-go when training camp opens on July 25 at The Greenbrier Resort. New CBA mandates set forth a five-day ramp-up to competitive, padded practices.
Watson declined to say if he will see any action in the Browns’ three preseason games – or if he needs to see any action – to prepare for the team’s season-opener on September 8 against the high-scoring Dallas Cowboys.
“If I do, I do. But it’s not going to change anything. Not at all,” he said.
Overall, he termed the journey from shoulder surgery to the brink of returning to competitive football “beautiful … it’s been a blessing.”
“I’ve been able to sit back and recollect everything that’s been going on and be able to start from scratch, kind of build that foundation,” Watson said. “I don’t get frustrated with anything like that. There’s other things in life that can frustrate you.
“This is a blessing, to be able to continue to play the game of football, and to have the people that want you to succeed and have the people to work on you. For me to be even back throwing a football is definitely my top point I’ve been locked in with.”
Watson shouted out surgeon Dr. Neal El’Attrache, the Browns’ medical staff, his personal QB coach Quincy Avery and “my whole team … everybody that’s been around me that’s been right there from Day 1. It’s been beautiful. It’s been awesome.”
Spanning the globe
Watson’s offseason has been anything but uneventful.
He said he has “just been all over the world, just all over the place, and we’ve been enjoying the offseason and can’t just wait to get back and get the season going.”
His Instagram posts have included images of him jet-skiing in Croatia; working out in Miami, FL; beaching in Spain; tattooiing in Scottsdale, AZ; concert-going in Nice, France; visiting in Las Vegas, NV; and conducting a football clinic in Saudi Arabia.
He said he has thrown a football “every day … the work comes first. I’m always working to get better to improve my skillset and myself.”
Watson did organize a get-together in south Florida with some of his offensive teammates after the team’s minicamp.
“We enjoyed some good sun and worked out and got some guys together," he said. "The work has been good, the chemistry, the off-the-field, just hanging out, has definitely been awesome.”
Watson indicated that receiver Amari Cooper, who held out of voluntary OTAs and the mandatory minicamp while seeking a new contract, has maintained a connection with his teammates.
“The connection’s been awesome,” Watson said. “Me and Amari, even with the other guys, it’s not like we’ve missed a beat. Amari’s always been there. We know what he can do. He’s showing that, showing that over the offseason. The brotherhood, the love, the communication, none of that stuff has missed a beat at all.”
Asked his concern that Cooper might continue his holdout through portions of camp, Watson said, “Amari’s gonna be good. As far as the other stuff, that’s their business. I can’t get into all that. He knows that we love him and we want him back, that’s for sure.”
The Newton-Dorsey connection
Watson said part of his motivation to host a 7-on-7 high school football tournament in Cleveland was because of his experience attending one in Georgia as a kid hosted by Cam Newton.
“Yeah, Cam, he’s like my big brother right now,” Watson said. “Just like these kids, I went to his first 7-on-7 event. He saw me, a local guy from down the street, which is ironic how his last high school game was against my high school back in 2006, '07, whatever.
“I came out, just a young kid, we lit it up, went to the championship game. I think we ended up losing a close game, and brought me on to his all-star team and that bond started from there. Ever since then, he was in Charlotte [NC], I was in Clemson [SC], so I used to see him on weekends. His family would come down to watch me play. Until this day, we still connect and have that brotherhood, that friendship, and some great memories. With these kids, you never know the bond and relationships that you might meet. It can take your life and change your life just like it did mine.”
Newton, of course, went on to become a league MVP and led the Carolina Panthers to the Super Bowl in 2015. His quarterback coach that year was Ken Dorsey, whom the Browns hired to revamp their offense into a shotgun-spread attack to maximize Watson’s skillset.
“He liked Ken,” Watson said of Newton. “Ken is just going to let you be yourself. He wants to score, he wants to put up a lot of points, but he’s gonna allow [me] to be me.”
Now that Watson has been exposed to the installation of Dorsey’s offense, he called it “beautiful.”
“It’s fun. It’s exciting. He and Kevin [Stefanski] are doing a heckuva job of putting a nice playbook together for all of us so we go out there and we [can] execute at a high level and be one of the top teams in the NFL. That’s the plan and we’re gonna take it one day at a time and just continue to build on it.”
Which is why, when asked, Watson delivered this message to fans of the Browns:
“Just be ready. Just be excited. Come out and support us because we appreciate that and we feed off the energy. The energy is super, super hot. That’s all we ask for, that love and support, and we’re gonna give you that on the field. We’re going to continue to compete each and every week.”