BEREA, Ohio -- Despite on-field struggles and injuries that have upended his first two seasons in Cleveland, Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson reaffirmed his belief that he's one of the NFL's best passers.
When asked whether he still considers himself one of the league's elite quarterbacks, Watson answered, "Of course. No doubt."
The Browns' season opener against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday will mark Watson's first game since he underwent season-ending shoulder surgery last November. Suspension and injuries have limited Watson to just 12 games since he made his debut in Cleveland in the 2022 season. During that time frame, Watson's 41.9 QBR is the sixth lowest in the NFL.
Watson did not play in the preseason, and he was limited in a practice two weeks ago because of what head coach Kevin Stefanski described as arm soreness. Watson, though, said he could have completed the practice and that there have "never been any limitations" on his throwing shoulder.
"I challenged myself to get back to this moment right now, and I wanted to make every throw in the spring," Watson said. "I did that. I was able to make every throw that Dr. [Neal] ElAttrache put out there on the table for me, and I was able to do that before spring broke. And so going into the summer and training camp, everything else was just building the strength and building that endurance with the shoulder."
While Watson will return to the lineup, he could be without his starting left tackle. Jedrick Wills Jr. is returning to practice this week for the first time since sustaining a season-ending knee injury last November but told reporters he's not going to start against the Cowboys. Jack Conklin, who is also returning from a season-ending knee injury he sustained in Week 1 last year, could start in his place. It would be Conklin's first start at left tackle since his final season at Michigan State in 2015.