It will be 700 days exactly between Deshaun Watson's last start (for the Houston Texans) and Sunday's expected start (for the Cleveland Browns). Nevertheless, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said Watson will 'be ready to roll,' against his former team.
To make room for Watson on the active roster, the Browns waived quarterback Joshua Dobbs. Jacoby Brissett, who went 4-7 as the Browns' starter in Watson's place, and Kellen Mond join him in the Browns' quarterback room.
That means, when Watson takes the field in Houston, it'll have been 700 days between regular-season starts for him, which has raised the concern about rust. He last started a regular-season game on Jan. 3, 2021, for the Texans against the Tennessee Titans. Watson isn't returning to active status completely cold. He was a full participant in the Browns' offseason program and preseason before starting his suspension at 4 p.m. Aug. 30.
Watson has been back in the building in some capacity since Oct. 10, when he began the first stage of his return. That stage involved participating in meetings, receiving medical treatment and going through strength and conditioning work. There remains the unknown part of the whole thing, which is how Watson will change the identity of the Browns' offense. Certainly, they expect him to add a dynamic layer to it that Brissett, for the successes he had despite the record, was not able to provide.
Brissett was more than serviceable in his 11 starts in Watson's place, capped by Sunday's 23-17 overtime win over Tampa Bay. He completed 64.1% of his 368 pass attempts for 2,608 yards with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions.
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