Browns' Ken Dorsey explains excitement about coaching Deshaun Watson

New Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey sounds eager to coach quarterback Deshaun Watson ahead of what could become a franchise-altering season. 

"I’m extremely excited to work with this offense, especially Deshaun and him being one of the top quarterbacks in this league, the opportunity to really go out there this season and help him prove that he really is that — a top quarterback in this league that can operate and help us win a bunch of football games," Dorsey said during his introductory news conference on Monday, as shared by Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. "So, I’m super excited about that opportunity and really looking forward to this challenge."

The Browns parted ways with offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt even though the club earned a trip to the playoffs despite Watson appearing in just six games before he was sidelined with a season-ending shoulder injury. In total, Watson has played in just 12 regular-season contests since he signed a fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract in March 2022. 

Cleveland theoretically could consider moving on from Watson and/or head coach Kevin Stefanski if the team fails to return to the postseason next January. For now, Dorsey is concentrating on getting the best out of the 28-year-old signal-caller who hasn't earned a Pro Bowl nod since the 2020 campaign. 

"[T]he exciting thing about Deshaun, is from everything I’ve been told from Kevin and the guys here, this guy, he wants to be coached. He wants to be pushed and driven," Dorsey added on Monday. "And I think I’ll be able to pick up where the staff has left off on that." 

Across his 12 games with Cleveland, Watson has completed 204-of-341 passes (59.8%) for 2,217 yards with 14 touchdowns, nine interceptions and an 81.7 passer rating. To compare, he posted a 104.5 passer rating during his four seasons of playing for the Houston Texans.