Deshaun Watson to start for Browns in Friday’s preseason game

After the Hall of Fame Game provided Browns fans with some entertainment in the form of roster bottom feeders, they will get a glimpse of what’s to come in Friday’s preseason contest against the Washington Commanders. This includes quarterback Deshaun Watson.

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski stated that the majority of the Browns starters will see the field. As far as much playing time they will see, Stefanski did not provide any specifics as he plans to talk to the team first before making any public declarations.

Do not expect anything extravagant or exciting from the Browns offense as it is still early in the preseason. In fact, do not expect anything too exotic throughout the preseason as that would be an incredible waste of concept and play design. The expectations should be for the operation on both sides of the ball, not just the offense, to be precise and executed properly.

The important thing to keep in mind for anyone watching the game is to avoid putting too much stock into anything Deshaun Watson is or is not able to accomplish. With how the end of last season went and how rusty Watson looked, the temptation to overrate a preseason performance is staring everyone right in the face and many will fall victim to it. The very same situation exists if the results that come from Friday’s game are not positive.

There are two scenarios that would be justifiable reasons to sound the alarms on how things could play out. An injury to a key player is the first but that one is obvious. The other is if the operation is a complete mess, such as multiple delay of game penalties or players not knowing basic assignments. That would be the time to worry about how this season unfolds.