Deshaun Watson’s NFL career is a rollercoaster to this point. Coming out of Clemson after building the dynasty with Dabo Swinney, Watson went No. 12 overall in the 2017 NFL draft, which still felt low. Spoiler, it was.

Watson earned his way to the Pro Bowl from 2018-20, scoring 121 touchdowns over his first four NFL seasons. Then the chaos with violating personal conduct policy and double-digit accusations caused Watson to miss the 2021 season and 11 games in 2022.

The Browns ended up trading for Watson, and signed him to the largest deal in NFL history, making their commitment to him very clear. During six games last season, he had a 58.2% completion and threw for seven touchdowns with five interceptions. It had been nearly two years since Watson took the NFL field, so rust was expected. What’s 2023 going to look like for him is the most important, and it earned him a spot on ESPN’s most intriguing players this season.

The Browns have plenty of reason to be optimistic that their $230 million investment in Watson will finally pay off with results on the football field. But there are obviously plenty of questions remaining. The last time Watson played a full season, he led the league in passing yards. That was three years ago, and he completed just 58.3% of his passes last season, but he doesn’t even turn 28 until September.

I don’t see how anybody could predict with any confidence how Watson’s 2023 season is going to go. The range of potential outcomes is extensive. If it goes well, the Browns could be a legitimate AFC contender that no one’s paying attention to right now. If it goes poorly, they could come out of this season wondering how to get out of an investment that will still have three fully guaranteed years left.

When a team signs the largest contract in the league’s history, they’re normally not looking to leave that investment at any point. Watson’s 2023 could change that image, while a strong season and a potential playoff berth would give Cleveland a large breather considering the backlash during the deal.

Watson has Amari Cooper back for another year, a true No. 1 receiver while the addition of Elijah Moore is a huge boost to the wide receiver unit. With Nick Chubb’s talents to boot, there’s plenty of reason for the Clemson national champion to shake off the rust from 2022 and return to his early NFL form.