Browns OC Ken Dorsey Saw Something New From Deshaun Watson At OTAs

Deshaun Watson threw in front of the media for the first time on Thursday.

Browns offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey meets with the media after Day 6 of OTAs / Spencer German

Thursday marked the latest milestone in Deshaun Watson's recovery from shoulder surgery. The Browns QB threw in front of a gallery of media members for the first time since suffering a fractured glenoid in his throwing shoulder in Week 10 of last season.

It's the latest phase of his recovery process, which has involved throwing the football for several months now, but he's still got a ways to go to be fully re-integrated into the Browns offense, overseen by new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey.

"He’s not getting the live reps out there on some of those seven-on-seven periods and things like that," said Dorsey. "But I think Kevin (Stefanski) does a great job in the way he structures practice in the offseason program. One, with the rules and doing what we’re allowed, but then, two, that really allows Deshaun now to get some reps, too, not just strictly standing back behind a mental space. So I think it’s a really good combination right now of him getting mental reps, him getting some of the live reps, quote unquote live reps that he can get in a more of a jog through tempo and then obviously the routes and the throwing when he can’t get in on his throwing days.”

Deshaun Watson threw in front of the media for the first time today. How did he look and what did he do? My observations from his involvement in day 6 of #Browns OTAs: https://t.co/JaeEgMrcTJ

— 𝚂𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚛 𝙶𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚗 (@Spencito_) May 30, 2024

As Dorsey described, Watson served only as a spectator for the Browns full team and seven-on-seven work. Essentially anything involving throwing against members of the defense was handled by veteran backup Jameis Winston.

Watson, meanwhile, threw passes to receivers earlier on in the practice during combined work with the skill players and during the install session that brought the entire offensive unit together to run plays. It wasn't the firework show some were expecting, but it's all part of the methodical plan that the Browns and Watson's doctors have laid out for him this offseason.

There was at least one thing that Watson did though that caught Dorsey's attention.

"He threw the ball down the sideline, a vertical throw today," said Dorsey. "That’s one I haven’t seen from him a lot because we haven’t pushed him to do that. So that was good to see. I think the more he grows and feels comfortable with it, the more you’ll start seeing those things get ramped up more and more."

#Browns QB Deshaun Watson tossed it about 30 yards to Elijah Moore for 6 pic.twitter.com/X8k977FmU0

— 𝚂𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚛 𝙶𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚗 (@Spencito_) May 30, 2024

Back in April, Watson described his rehab as a day-to-day process that includes plenty of evaluation along the way from his doctors and the team. Everything he's done or hasn't done to this point has been by design. As Watson explained back then, they always planned to take a more conservative approach to these spring workouts.

Right now he's throwing every other day, but the biggest milestone is still to come. Training camp is supposed to be the phase where the former first-round pick hopes to really pick things up and start letting it rip. That's still the plan according to Dorsey.

"Where he’s at right now is kind of in that process right now," the Browns OC said. "And as he gets more and more comfortable and part of that’s just the mental side of things, too, that, ‘Okay, I can start really open it up more and more because of the confidence.’ So I think there’s a lot of that involved with it as well, but you see him continue each day, ramping it up a little bit more and more."

With Watson in and out of drills, Dorsey and the Browns have turned to veteran backup Winston to help run the offense and get everyone up to speed on the new system. Building an offense for Watson, while he can't fully participate in it is a bit of a challenge, but it's one Dorsey puts on himself to figure out.

"He’s trying to get all the reps he possibly can from a mental standpoint, but we still want to install the offense, and we still want to get everybody else involved up to speed. So that puts a lot on us as coaches and in the quarterback room to make sure we’re maximizing every learning tool possible ... So you don’t want to limit what you’re installing just based off of his availability, because there’s things that those other guys need to make sure they’re getting reps on, too."