Deshaun Watson attends first regular-season practice for Browns

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson took to practice for the first time since August 30 as he prepares to take the field towards the back end of his 11-game suspension. 

This game will, no doubt, be a feisty affair whose intensity is likely to be matched in the Ohio sports betting scene, where sportsbooks like BetMGM, FanDuel, and Draftkings are offering attractive welcome bonuses on several markets.

Waston was bought by the Browns in March, and awarded a $230m contract – the biggest contract in the NFL’s history – and looks set to make his first appearance on December 4 against his old employers Houston Texans.

The Texans drafted him into the side in 2017, and Watson was named to the Pro Bowl in his first three years at the franchise; his likelihood of repeating such a feat is sure to feature on the aforementioned sportsbooks at some point this season. Until that time, you could look at Draftkings’ futures markets, where the Texans are given odds of -250 to be the team with the fewest wins this season, while the Browns are favored a lot more to escape such a fate with odds of +30000 in the same market.

Watson will need to hit peak sharpness again

Watson will not have taken to the field for over 650 days before the Texans game, and it remains to be seen if he can still perform at the level he’s used to. Watson has been one of the best quarterbacks in the league since his arrival; however, the last year or so will surely have taken a toll on his game. 

Quarterback, Jacoby Brissett has been playing ahead of Watson during the latter’s absence and has exceeded expectations with his performance, but there’s no doubt that he’ll have to immediately make way for Watson once he is available. 

To make sure he isn’t entirely out of touch with the game, Watson is working with a private quarterback coach all this time. There will be a bit of getting used to for fans, players, coaches, and the rest of the NFL world.

The Browns are fully backing Watson 

Watson has had to participate in 24 civil suits with 23 of them financially settled and one lawsuit dropped. Two grand juries declined to indict the quarterback on the criminal charges against him. Jimmy Haslam – the Cleveland Browns owner – has got behind the move completely, even stating that he’d do it all over again.

The Browns have one of the best running backs in the league in Nick Chubb, but they haven’t been able to get to the latter stages of the playoffs since his arrival. Baker Mayfield, the team’s former quarterback, helped the side make it to the playoffs and win a playoff game for the first time in many years when he joined the Browns. Still, he was limited when compared to some of the other quarterbacks in the league and was ultimately traded to the Carolina Panthers this season. 

Watching Watson and Chubb team-up will be one of the most highly-anticipated events of this NFL season, but Watson will have to wait till December till that takes place.