Browns’ Watson knows he must prove he’s elite

BEREA, Ohio — Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson says he has no issue with no longer being ranked among the NFL’s top passers heading into the season.

“You can’t focus on that because that ranking is always changing,” Watson said. “And for me, I missed two years of football, so I shouldn’t be in those rankings, to be honest. If you’re asking me, I haven’t played ball, I haven’t played enough football the last few years to even be up there. So I got to go out there and prove and show what I got to do to get back in those conversations.”

Watson is entering his first full season as Cleveland’s starting quarterback. He played six games last year for the Browns after serving an 11-game suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy after he was accused by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and sexual misconduct during massage sessions.

Watson also sat out the 2021 season after requesting a trade from the Houston Texans. The Browns traded for Watson in March 2022 and sent the Texans three first-round draft picks before signing Watson to a new five-year deal worth a record $230 million guaranteed.

Watson led the NFL in passing yards in 2020 and was generally considered to be among the top quarterbacks in the league. But Watson struggled after his return from last year’s suspension. In six games, he posted a QBR of 38.3; only Russell Wilson, Mac Jones, Davis Mills, Carson Wentz and Baker Mayfield had worse QBRs among starting quarterbacks. Jacoby Brissett, Cleveland’s backup who filled in for Watson last year, had a QBR of 60.0 over 11 games. Watson was not listed among the league’s top 100 players in the NFL’s annual preseason player rankings.

Watson, however, said he’s not concerned with his standing in any quarterback rankings.

“For me, I just lock in on what I need to lock in on and just focus on my tasks,” he said. “Everything else will take care of itself.”

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