WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — Deshaun Watson has shifted into self-protection mode.
Cleveland's contentious quarterback, who has played just 12 games the past two seasons due to an NFL suspension followed by a shoulder fracture that required major surgery, said Friday that he's worked on a new approach as he enters a critical Year 3 with the Browns.
"Honestly, it's really just blocking out all the (stuff), outside," he said, using an expletive. "It was tough coming in two years, different environment, different team, different all that. So, you come in and your character's been mentioned this way and then it kind of flips on you and you're trying to get people to like you or improve.
"But now it's like, at the end of the day, it's two years in and if you don't like me or you have your own opinion, then forget it. It is what it is. So blocking out all the noise and focusing on me and focusing on what I need to do to be the best Deshaun Watson I can be for myself, my family and my teammates."
The Browns are counting on Watson to become an elite quarterback — nothing more. They traded for him in 2022, luring him from Houston with a fully guaranteed $230 million contract that has yet to pay dividends.
Watson was suspended 11 games by the NFL in his first season after being accused of sexual assault by more than two dozen female massage therapists in Texas. He began knocking off major rustiness last season — he also sat out 2021 with the Texans in a contract dispute — before breaking the glenoid bone in his throwing shoulder against Baltimore in Week 10.
Although two grand juries declined to indict him, Watson has become a polarizing figure to fans, some who support him and others who wish the Browns would have looked elsewhere for a franchise QB.
Watson has heard the boos, felt the vitriol.
He said it hasn't always been easy to accept or ignore.
"Of course. My character was getting challenged," he said. "I know who I am. A lot of people never really knew my history or knew who I really was, so they're going based off other people's opinions and whatever other people are saying.
"I'm a person that likes to have people like me, and I feel like a lot of people are like that. So, sometimes things in your brain, you just got to churn and you just got to be like, 'Forget it.' It is what it is."
It's a complicated situation for the Browns, who have continued to support Watson and are now hoping he can regain the form that made him one of the NFL's top playmakers prior to his legal entanglements and injury.
Watson threw for the second straight day at training camp, even participating in 11-on-11 drills for the first time since having surgery in November. The 28-year-old is pleased with his steady progress.
"I'm right on track, right where I want to be," he said. "I am right where the doctors wanted me to be and just continue to follow the process, continue to follow the script, and by taking it one day at a time just lock in on the process of what's ahead of us."
While the Browns remain optimistic that Watson will be ready for the Sept. 8 season against Dallas, they're following a mostly conservative approach. Coach Kevin Stefanski hasn't decided if Watson will play in any preseason games.
Watson has always exuded confidence, but star defensive end Myles Garrett has noticed something different about his teammate.
"His spirit has really grown as far as just being more excited to be on the field and being happy to be around," said Garrett, voted AP Defensive Player of the Year after a dominant 2023 season. "He was sometimes just a little down with the situation with his shoulder, just wanting to be out there with the guys, wanting to be in a position where he can support us and lead.
"It's hard to lead when you're not able to play and lead by example. But as his health continued to improve, his spirits started to grow again. He started to really get back into his groove and feel like that player and that leader again. It's been nice to see him grow back into himself."
For the first time, Watson feels less burdened, freer.
"Last year I thought that was going to be the year where I can play a full year and get a full season under my belt, then the injury happened," he said. "So I was very disappointed and down, not just because I couldn't show exactly what I can do for this organization.
"I understand that they put a lot into me, but sometimes the injuries you can't control. So a lot of things kind of didn't fall in place the last two years, but praying and taking one day at a time that everything do this year."
