Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski recently joined The Rich Eisen Show and discussed his expectations for Deshaun Watson this coming season, as the former Clemson quarterback heads into his first full season in Cleveland.

“I think where he is right now, hard to compare to a year ago, but I certainly see a comfort level in what we’re doing offensively,” Stefanski said. “I see a guy who’s always going to be that guy leading from out in front. That’s kind of who he is, and I don’t see that wavering one bit.”

Watson made his long-awaited return to the field last December after sitting out the entire 2021 season and then serving an 11-game suspension to begin 2022 for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.

When Watson made his Browns debut on Dec. 4 of last year, it marked his first game in exactly 700 days since Jan. 3, 2021. And the lengthy layoff was evident as Watson had to shake off rust last season, though he also showed flashes of being the type of player he was with the Houston Texans.

Overall, across six games with the Browns, the three-time Pro Bowler completed 58.2 percent of his passes for 1,102 yards and seven touchdown passes with five interceptions.

“I’m really pleased with where Deshaun is,” Stefanski said. “As you can imagine and you mentioned, there was a lot going on, and it was at six games last season. As a team, we were not perfect. We were up and down. I think we went 3-3 in the games that Deshaun played. As a player, there was some up and down. But there were really glimpses of some impressive, I’ll call it elite, quarterback play that we’ve all seen from him over the course of his career.”

When he was traded from the Texans to the Browns in March 2022, Watson received a fully guaranteed five-year contract worth $230 million. The Browns have made their commitment to the star QB very clear, and with a massive contract naturally comes huge expectations, but Stefanski is optimistic about Watson entering the upcoming campaign.

“I’m excited about Deshaun,” he said. “I think he’s really taken the bit in terms of the leadership. … But the guy’s really taken everything that we’ve thrown at him, and he’s worked. That’s something that when were talking about adding him, I talked to a lot of his former coaches, and just the work ethic that he has – he is the quintessential gym rat. He loves to get in early, he loves to spend time at his craft. So, it’s been fun to work with him through this offseason.”

Watson earned Pro Bowl honors in each of his last three full seasons (2018-20 with the Texans). Overall, in his NFL career, the 2017 first-round draft pick (12th overall) has completed 67.0 percent of his passes for 15,641 yards and 111 touchdowns with 41 interceptions while rushing for 1,852 yards and 18 more scores.

–Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images