Deshaun Watson 'True Believer'? Browns at Texans Really Is 'About One Person'

Browns coach Kevin Stefanski says of Texans ex Deshaun Watson, "This is never, ever gonna be about one person.'' But he's wrong.

The Houston Texans once invested ... well, almost everything ... in Deshaun Watson.

Now, as he readies to take the field again after an almost-two-year absence, the Cleveland Browns have invested ... well, almost everything as well.

Are the Browns "true believers''?

“I have confidence in Deshaun based on his preparation and, really, the focus is on just him doing his job,” Browns coach Stefanski said. "As it relates to Deshaun, I believe in his preparation, I believe that he worked really hard on a bunch of things to be ready to go."

If time matters? Yes, one would think that Watson will be ready ... as long as he can compartmentalize the fact that he was suspended for the first 11 games of the 2022 season after being accused of sexual misconduct by more than 20 women. ... and that before that, he spent a final year as an invisible and in-limbo semi-member of the Texans.

Watson was activated to the 53-man roster earlier this week and is going to start on Sunday against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. This will be Watson's first regular-season game since the end of the 2020 season, with a great deal of focus on the contest - slated for at noon CT - on Watson's awkward homecoming.

Stefanski is trying to say the right big-picture things about this game.

“We’re still gonna be all about the team effort, still offense, defense, and special teams,'' he said. "So this is never, ever gonna be about one person.''

Yeah ... but ... The Browns are bad at 4-7. The Texans are the worst at 1-9-1. Maybe some viewers tune in for the purity of the game or something. But the reality is, this is very much a stage for Deshaun Watson ... and for the two organizations that have taken turns believing in him.

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Mike Fisher
MIKE FISHER

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NFL since 1983, is the Texas-based author of two best-selling books on the NFL.