3 reasons Deshuan Watson and the Cleveland Browns may struggle in 2023

Uncertainty over Deshaun Watson’s abilities

For those that don’t know, I cover MMA on top of many other things. One of the things I see often in MMA are guys who take off loads of time and come back slightly less than what they once were. I believe, though it’s a theory, not a fact, that when an athlete takes off for a long period of time, that when they come back they don’t come back all the way. That a part of them doesn’t fully return. I believe this is true for all sports, but it’s most evident in sports like MMA.

In theory, this should be true for Watson as well. Through two games, he’s shown an improvement game to game but he still doesn’t look good. We’ve already talked about how guys like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady came back from long layoffs and played exceptionally well. So, in theory, Watson can and should be able to do the same. After all, he was on a Hall of Fame trajectory before his behavior spiraled out of control.

So far, through two games, he’s looked nervous. He’s holding onto the ball too long, he’s skipping passes, overthrowing passes, and making ill-timed decisions like throwing to David Njoku at the line of scrimmage when six or seven opposing players surround them. It seems to be nerves, but it could be anything at this point, and considering so much of athletics is mental (i.e. Chuck Knoblauch getting the yips), it’s very possible that Watson overcomes this with time.

It’s also possible that he never does. We’ve seen athletes in their prime fall apart because they couldn’t get their heads right. So who knows what Watson will look like over the next four years?