Browns’ Deshaun Watson Gives Stern Response to Suggestion He Alter His Game

Getty Quarterback Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns.
The Cleveland Browns offense has limped its way to a 1-2 record this season and quarterback Deshaun Watson’s woes have been a big part of that — but that doesn’t mean he’s willing to change.

Media members asked Watson on Wednesday, September 25, whether he’d be willing to be more active in the run game and/or support more designed runs as part of the offense.

“If I don’t have to run, I’m not going to run. So, I’m not trying to take any hits,” Watson said. “Because I’m not a running quarterback, in a sense. I can make things happen, but I’m not trying to run. I’m not a running back. It’s not my specialty. They signed me to throw the ball, make decisions and be a quarterback, not a runner.”

GettyCleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Watson hasn’t been much of either a passer or a runner since joining Cleveland in 2o22.

He appeared in just six games in each of his first two years and failed to throw for more than 7 TDs in either campaign. His collective completion percentage across 15 starts (9-6) is less than 58%. Watson has gained 402 rushing yards and scored 3 TDs on 76 carries over his time in Cleveland.

The Browns are 1-2 this year with both losses coming at home. The first was a blowout defeat at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1 followed by a 6-point loss to the New York Giants in Week 3.

Watson has a QBR of 22.5 through three games, which is tied for 30th in the NFL. The team must ready itself for a three-game road trip including stops at the Las Vegas Raiders, Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles in consecutive weeks and figure out how to win with a quarterback who isn’t playing well and doesn’t want to change.

GettyCleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski.
Reporters pressed the quarterback with follow-up inquiries, asking something of a rhetorical question as to whether Watson using his athleticism as a runner could help the offense succeed.

“I mean, it can. It possibly can, so I won’t say that it won’t help out the offense as far as just the run game,” Watson responded. “But I mean, coming back from an injury I don’t think that is high priority for [head coach] Kevin [Stefanski] to put me in that situation. Because go out there, and in [a] design run and something happens, then it’s like you’re mad at Kevin. So I feel like it’s a lose-lose situation.”

Watson missed 11 games in 2022 due to a league suspension relating to more than two dozen allegations of sexual misconduct. He missed 11 games in 2023, his best year with the team, due to a shoulder injury that ultimately required surgery.

So while it is true that no coach wants to put his starting QB in a position to get injured, it is unclear how much media and fan vitriol would land in Stefanski’s lap if Watson ended up on the bench for whatever reason.

Former No. 1 overall pick Jameis Winston and 2023 fifth-round selection Dorian Thompson-Robinson are the second- and third-string quarterbacks, and it is likely that the Browns turn to one of them at some point during the year if Watson’s struggles continue.
Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group's family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible