I know I say this as an outsider. And from a Pittsburgh Steelers lens. So it will be easy, and perhaps justified, to accuse me of bias and taking a swing at low-hanging fruit. But more than 18 months since the Cleveland Browns traded for QB Deshaun Watson, it’s safe to say the team hasn’t gotten return on its investment.
Since trading three first-round picks and giving Watson $230 million fully guaranteed, an NFL record, here’s what the Browns have gotten back. Ten starts, 11 passing touchdowns, eight interceptions, and an offense struggling to thrive with him around. On top of that, they’ve gotten endless controversy, drama, and injuries.
In fairness, the Browns knew what they were signing up. They knew the reputational damage they’d experience by trading for and embracing Watson in the midst of scores of sexual harassment and assault allegations. That he would be hit with a suspension of substantial length, which ultimately became 11 games, and that when he returned in 2022, there’d be lots of rust to knock off. Check, check, check, all three of those things happened.
The team was banking on 2023 being Watson’s year. Past the suspension, a full offseason with the team, the ability to focus solely on football. That he would be the missing link. The offensive line was in place, the running back was in place, and the Browns’ defense has become one of the NFL’s best. Say what you will about the never-ending T.J. Watt/Myles Garrett debate but teams fear Garrett just as much as they do Watt. That was again proven in Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts, a contest Garrett dominated and took over, the best player on the field. All they needed was for Watson to come close to what he was in his prime with the Houston Texans.
And they’ve gotten none of it. He’s not even half of what he was. A liability more often than an asset, Watson looked miserable in yesterday’s game, going 1-for-5 with a sideline throw he had no business making that led to a pick.
Of course, Watson even seeing the field has been infrequent. Of the 23 games the Browns have played since the trade, Watson has started only 10 of them. There was the suspension last year, but this year has been just as murky. He suffered a bruise on the rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder sometime during Week Three’s win over the Tennessee Titans, a game in which Watson played legitimately well, and missed the next month.
That came shrouded with mystery, Watson initially expected to play the following week, medically cleared by doctors, but then choosing to sit out the game 90 minutes before kickoff. Left scrambling, the Browns turned to overwhelmed rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson, chewed up and spit out by a tough Ravens’ defense in an ugly loss. You don’t think the Browns’ coaches were pissed at Watson for forcing their hand last second? They had to have been heated.
It wouldn’t be until Week Seven that Watson returned, his first action after missing a month. It didn’t last long. He looked terrible, throwing that pick shown above. With their only production coming for a long Jerome Ford touchdown run, Watson took a hard shot on his fourth drive of the game and immediately went to the blue medical tent.
Here’s where things got interesting. According to CBS sideline reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala, Watson was checked for and cleared for a concussion, allowing him to go back into the game. He didn’t. Instead, he wore his puffy sideline jacket and stood on the sidelines, watching backup P.J. Walker struggled. The Browns said he wasn’t concussed and that he didn’t reinjure his shoulder. All head coach Kevin Stefanski said was they were “playing it safe” with Watson. From what? That’s anyone’s guess.
I’m not just the Steelers guy spouting off. Check any Browns forum and you read and feel the frustration. Head on over to their Reddit page and read some of the comments after an apparently terse postgame interview Watson gave the media.
“When your this defensive in a post game presser… that’s usually not a good sign. He looked awful, even accounting for a not-100% throwing shoulder”
“I don’t think I’ve hated a player this much since Manziel.”
“I hate this dude”
“He’s poison and it’s making it hard to enjoy”
A guy the organization traded the farm for, hurt their reputation, while watching a rolodex of other quarterbacks play instead of him. Jacoby Brissett. Thompson-Robinson. Walker. It’s become the same old Browns story, this revolving door of backup quarterbacks. No different than when they jumped from Seneca Wallace to Thad Lewis to Josh McCown. At least those guys weren’t getting paid hundreds of millions and billed as the face and savior of the franchise.
The Browns can still compete. Much like the Steelers, they’re finding ways to win, largely on the backs of their potent defense. Newly hired DC Jim Schwartz has been the team’s best acquisition, not Watson, and he’s made it one of the most impactful defenses in football with no real weakness. Their best offensive weapon is kicker Dustin Hopkins instead of their quarterback. Their winning without and in spite of Watson, both of which throw up major red flags.
Not only do the Browns seem unhappy with Watson, they’re stuck with him. That’s the fully guaranteed life, baby. While I might be reaching out of my skies here a little bit, it doesn’t feel like a coincidence that Watson is electing to sit out so many moments, knowing there’s no financial repercussions the team can lay on him. He got his money. So he’s doing what he’s been doing for basically the last three seasons. Nothing.
The Browns have to make it work. They have no choice. On paper, they have their franchise quarterback.
They might also have serious buyer’s remorse.
