Jake Trotter, ESPN Group of workers Editor
BEREA, Ohio — Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson says he has deny factor and not using a longer being ranked some of the NFL’s lead passers heading into the season.
“You can’t focus on that because that ranking is always changing,” Watson stated. “And for me, I missed two years of football, so I shouldn’t be in those rankings, to be honest. If you’re asking me, I haven’t played ball, I haven’t played enough football the last few years to even be up there. So I got to go out there and prove and show what I got to do to get back in those conversations.”
Watson is coming into his first complete season as Cleveland’s creation quarterback. He performed six video games closing yr for the Browns nearest serving an 11-game abeyance for violating the league’s non-public habits coverage nearest he used to be accused via greater than two bundle girls of sexual attack and sexual misconduct right through therapeutic massage periods.
Watson additionally sat out the 2021 season nearest inquiring for a industry from the Houston Texans. The Browns traded for Watson in March 2022 and despatched the Texans 3 first-round draft choices earlier than signing Watson to a unused five-year trade in use a file $230 million assured.
Watson led the NFL in passing yards in 2020 and used to be in most cases regarded as to be some of the lead quarterbacks within the league. However Watson struggled nearest his go back from closing yr’s abeyance. In six video games, he posted a QBR of 38.3; simplest Russell Wilson, Mac Jones, Davis Mills, Carson Wentz and Baker Mayfield had worse QBRs amongst creation quarterbacks. Jacoby Brissett, Cleveland’s extra who stuffed in for Watson closing yr, had a QBR of 60.0 over 11 video games. Watson used to be now not indexed some of the league’s lead 100 avid gamers within the NFL’s annual preseason participant ratings.
Watson, then again, stated he’s now not fascinated about his status in any quarterback ratings.
“For me, I just lock in on what I need to lock in on and just focus on my tasks,” he stated. “Everything else will take care of itself.”
