Why Deshaun Watson Will Never Be the Quarterback for the Browns That He Once Was

No matter how badly Deshaun Watson wants to bring back his glory days as a quarterback, those days are long gone. Set to make his first start in nearly two years, Watson's game has certainly changed over the years, whether he – or Todd Monken, for that matter – wants to admit it or not.

In 2020, Watson completed 382 of 544 passes (70.2%) for an NFL-leading 4,823 yards, 33 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. He also ran for 444 yards and three scores on 90 carries. Despite Watson’s impressive season, the Houston Texans were just 4-12 that season.

Now, in 2026, Watson is a completely different quarterback than he once was. Not just as a passer, but as a runner as well.

Let’s dig in:

Six Years is an Eternity by NFL standards

A lot has happened since that 2020 season, the last full season Watson played.

After he missed all of the 2021 season due to off-field incidents, the Browns traded three first-round picks, a third-rounder, and two fourth-round picks to the Texans for Watson, along with giving him a five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract,

Six years after Watson’s last full season and four years after the Browns acquired him, Watson has played in only 19 games in three seasons, missing all of 2025. Cleveland has a 9-10 record in those games, while Watson has completed 341 of 557 passes (61.2%) for 3,365 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions as a Brown.

It’s clear that Watson doesn’t have the passing ability he once did. Whether it’s the lack of muscle memory from having only played 19 games since the end of the 2020 season or something else, he’s not the same passer he once was (and very likely never will be).

He needs to adjust his game, but there are two problems with that: 1) He hasn’t been able to do so, and 2) He hasn’t had the snaps to do so given how much time he has missed.

Watson Can No Longer Rely on His Running Ability

The soon-to-be 31-year-old is on the wrong side of 30 to still be able to rely on his legs to make a play. In fact, age isn’t even the biggest factor in his regression as a scrambling quarterback.

With the Texans from 2017-20, Watson totaled 400 carries for 1,677 yards and 17 touchdowns, good for 29.3 rushing yards per game (54 games). In the three seasons with the Browns that he has actually played in, he has just 93 carries for 465 yards and three scores, which is 24.5 rushing yards per game (19 games). In those three seasons, his rushing yards per game has decreased from 29.2 to 23.7 to 21.1, the latter two of which were the fewest of his career.

The Injuries

Cleveland’s season opener on Sunday will mark the first time Watson has played (and started) in a regular-season game for the Browns since Oct. 10, 2024, when he tore his Achilles. Watson then tore that same Achilles less than three months later, on Jan. 6, 2025, an injury that forced him to miss the entire 2025 season.

With his age, along with the Achilles injuries, Watson’s ability to make plays with his legs has certainly decreased drastically. While the preseason is just the preseason, in two games in August, Watson notched only five carries for 17 yards. That said, he didn’t move as smoothly or as fast as he once did, for obvious reasons.

While the odds certainly aren’t in his favor of becoming a successful quarterback in the league, one thing is certain: Watson will never be the quarterback he once was.

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