It will have been 700 days since the former Texans quarterback played in an NFL game. Plus, answering your questions on the coaching futures of Sean Payton and Lovie Smith, Taylor Heinicke vs. Carson Wentz, the offensive prowess of Mike McDaniel and Kyle Shanahan and more.
From Joe Kwan (@JoeKwan03683425): Do u think not playing for 2 years will affect Deshaun Watson? Is he gonna be the same as he was in 2020 or will he look like #BroncosCountry let’s ride.
Joe, it’s a fair question. Watson will have gone 700 days between regular-season snaps when he breaks the huddle for the first time in Houston on Sunday after serving an 11-game suspension after extensive legal troubles over the past year, including more than two dozen filings detailing graphic accounts of sexual harassment and assault.
There’s a parallel here that I think can help illustrate the challenge ahead for Watson on the field. After the 2000 college season, then Yankees owner George Steinbrenner backed up the Brinks truck to pry prized prospect Drew Henson from his football pursuits. To that point, Henson had juggled being a Michigan quarterback (for two years, famously, as Tom Brady’s backup, and a third as starter) and a minor-league third baseman. The terms of Henson’s six-year, $17 million deal with the Yankees—signed in March 2021—dictated he drop the two-sport shuttle and focus solely on baseball.
