The Buffalo Bills and Browns held a joint practice against each other on Thursday. It was the first time Cleveland’s quarterback Deshaun Watson faced first-team defensive players in almost two years.
Watson tore his Achilles during a Week 7 game against the Cincinnati Bengals in 2024 at Huntington Bank Field. The tear ended his 2024 season and his entire 2025 season. Watson did play in the first preseason game on Saturday, but the Chicago Bears hardly had any of their starters out there.
Dion Dawkins Still Thinks Watson Can Play at a High Level
Joint practice was a great opportunity for Watson to face good competition against another team’s first-string defense without it being in a real game. Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins still has high praise for Watson even though Watson hasn’t been good since the 2020 season.
“Deshaun is still him. If you have a line that can protect the quarterback, then the quarterback is going to thrive,” Dawkins said on Thursday, via Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot. “He’s been that guy; he is that guy, and the world tries to paint a crazy picture that’s already painted, but let the past be the past and let the kid ball like he is a baller and he’s here, and he shows it.”
The Browns traded for Watson in March of 2022, paying a steep price for him. Cleveland sent its first-round picks for 2022, 2023, and 2024, along with a third-round pick in 2023 and a fourth-round pick in 2022 and 2024 to the Houston Texans. On top of that, the Browns gave Watson a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract.
Cleveland traded all that capital even though, at the time, Watson was in a civil lawsuit accusing him of sexual misconduct with dozens of cases. The NFL suspended Watson for the first 11 games in 2022. He played in the last six games that season, recording 1,102 passing yards and seven scores.
Watson Hasn’t Shown Much Since Heading to Cleveland
Watson was fully prepared to play in 2023, but injuries became an issue. He appeared in only six games before being ruled out for the rest of the season in mid-November due to a shoulder injury. The Browns didn’t miss a beat with him not on the field. Veteran Joe Flacco came in and helped lead Cleveland to the playoffs. But the Browns decided not to re-sign Flacco in 2024 and let Watson start.
In October 2024, Watson’s Achilles injury hurt his performance, and now he is focused on getting back on track. As he approaches the final season of his contract, he knows he needs to perform well to attract interest from a team for the next season.
The only issue is that Watson has only played in 19 games since the 2020 season. Few players can return to greatness after missing the field for almost six years. It’s also not like Watson has shown anything when he’s been on the field in recent seasons.
Watson has only 3,365 passing yards and 19 touchdowns to 12 interceptions in his time in Cleveland, with a 9-10 record.
Bills OT Dion Dawkins Offers Unexpected Praise for Browns’ Deshaun Watson