On July 30, 2011, Watson suffered a concussion after taking an inadvertent knee to the helmet during the Browns' first practice in training camp. On January 3, 2011, the Cleveland Browns fired head coach Eric Mangini and his staff after the Browns finished with a 5–11 record in 2010. Head coach Pat Shurmur retained Watson as the No. 1 starting tight end on the Browns' depth chart to begin the regular season. On September 25, 2011, he recorded five receptions for a season-high 64-yards during a 17–16 win against the Miami Dolphins in Week 3. The following week, Watson caught a season-high six passes for 48 receiving yards and a touchdown as the Browns lost to the Tennessee Titans 31–13. On October 23, 2011, Watson exited the Browns' 6–3 victory against the Seattle Seahawks at the beginning of the third quarter due to a concussion. In Week 14, he caught two passes for 11-yards, but suffered his third concussion of the season and exited in the second quarter of a 14–3 loss at the Pittsburgh Steelers. Watson sustained the concussion from a hit delivered by Steelers' safety Ryan Clark while attempting to catch a pass. On December 16, 2011, the Cleveland Browns officially placed Watson on injured reserve and he missed the remaining three games of the regular season after being evaluated by a head trauma specialist. He finished the 2011 season with a total of 37 receptions for 410 receiving yards and two touchdowns in 13 games and 11 starts.