Offensive struggles be damned, Deshaun Watson doesn’t want to run.
The Browns quarterback brushed off a question as to whether using his legs in more designed runs could help Cleveland’s lowly scoring attack.
“I’m not going in there to ask them for more designed runs. … If I don’t have to run, I’m not going to run,” Watson told reporters on Wednesday. “I’m not trying to take any hits. … I’m not a running quarterback, in a sense. I can make things happen but I’m not trying to run.
“I’m not a running back. It’s not my specialty. They signed me to throw the ball, make decisions and be a quarterback, not a runner.”
Watson has struggled over the first three games of the season for the 1-2 Browns, throwing for 551 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions with a 71.4 passer rating, which is 27th in the league.
Cleveland has scored just 50 points through three games, which is the eighth-fewest in the NFL.
With Nick Chubb sidelined with a knee injury, the Browns have particularly struggled on the ground, rushing for just 287 yards through Week 3 with Watson accounting for 85 of them.
Watson is still putting up 4.7 rushes per game, although that is a full attempt lower than his first four seasons with the Texans when he exploded on the scene as one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in recent history.
He’s one of just four quarterbacks in NFL history to have multiple seasons of 400 rushing yards and 4,000 passing yards alongside Josh Allen, Russell Wilson and Steve Young.
Coming off an upset loss to the Giants, the Browns will take on the Raiders in Las Vegas on Sunday in Week 4.