Browns players 'excited' for regular-season debut of Deshaun Watson

Cleveland Browns players are hyped for the regular-season debut of star quarterback Deshaun Watson at the 1-9-1 Houston Texans Sunday. 

"We're all excited," Browns Pro Bowl running back Nick Chubb said of Watson taking the field in Week 13, per Jake Trotter of ESPN. "We've waited a long time for him to come back."

Watson missed the first 11 games of the season while serving a suspension related to allegations of sexual misconduct during massage sessions. Backup Jacoby Brissett temporarily held the club's QB1 role and went 4-7 as a starter before Watson was officially reinstated on Monday.

Watson hasn't played in a regular-season game since he started for the Texans on Jan. 3, 2021. He sat through the entire 2021 campaign following an offseason trade request and was then dealt to Cleveland by Houston this past March. The 27-year-old has been eligible to practice with the Browns since Nov. 16.

"He's special — he's a playmaker," Chubb said about what he's seen from Watson during practice. "He puts the ball exactly where he needs it go. Guys like that. Guys are excited."

Linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah echoed that take. He said "there's an excitement" in the locker room about Watson taking meaningful snaps with the Browns for the first time. Understandably, not everybody shares that emotion. 

Attorney Tony Buzbee said that "around 10" of his clients who sued Watson for sexual misconduct plan to attend Sunday's game. Watson was always likely to encounter a hostile environment at NRG Stadium this weekend regardless of Buzbee's update, both because of the allegations against the signal-caller and for the way he forced his exit from the Texans. 

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski is doing all he can to eliminate outside noise and keep his players focused on the task at hand.