The Cleveland Browns are going with a quarterback change just in time for the their Week 13 matchup with the Houston Texans.
The Browns, who started 4-7 with Jacoby Brissett, are making a change under center as Deshaun Watson has served his 11-game suspension and is ready to play against the Texans.
The last time Watson played in an NFL game was Jan. 3, 2021, in the Week 17 finale when Houston lost 41-38 to the Tennessee Titans, who needed the victory to secure the AFC South.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski can’t say one way or the other whether Watson will have rust to shake off once he returns to NRG Stadium.
“It is a totally fair question,” Stefanski told the Cleveland media Nov. 30. “I don’t think I can predict that type of thing, but I know this, he is focusing on his work. Really in any endeavor, you have to focus on your preparation for Sunday. You can’t really worry about Sunday until you worry about Wednesday.”
Watson appeared rusty in his first NFL action of the summer when the Browns beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 24-13 on Aug. 12 in the first week of preseason. Watson went 1/5 for seven yards with a 39.6 passer rating while playing just three series for Cleveland in the first quarter.
Stefanski believes Watson was simply getting back into the groove of playing ball in August.
“I think a lot of that was just getting back in uniform, in the huddle, hearing my voice in the headset and those type of things,” said Stefanski. “That was all about the preparation. No, I don’t put much stock on that.”
Watson compiled a 2-1 record against the Browns while on the Texans’ roster from 2017-21. In Watson’s last meeting in the series, as the Texans’ quarterback, Cleveland prevailed 10-7 in a rainy, windy game at FirstEnergy Stadium on Nov. 15, 2020.