If the Cleveland Browns don’t believe in QB Deshaun Watson anymore, they’re really in no position to say it. They still owe him three years of fully guaranteed salary at $46 million per season—an eye-watering sum, to be sure.
There is good news. They won five of his six games last season before Watson injured his shoulder. Their only loss came in Week 2 against the Pittsburgh Steelers thanks to two defensive touchdowns. Alex Highsmith returned a Watson interception for a score and then T.J. Watt scored after scooping up a Watson fumble. He didn’t play incredibly. But he played well enough to allow them to win. He’s only started 12 games in two years.
“We don’t even think about it in terms of necessarily living up to a contract”, Browns GM Andrew Berry told Pro Football Talk. “We just want him to be available. If he’s available, we know that he can play at a high level. We were pleased with how he was playing before he injured his shoulder against Baltimore”.
“We really are excited about the future with him”.
In six games, Watson completed 105-of-171 pass attempts (61.4 percent) for 1,115 yards with seven touchdowns to four interceptions. He averaged 6.5 yards per pass attempt, adding 142 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. But he also fumbled five times in those six games in addition to those four interceptions.
The former Pro Bowler dealt with injuries throughout the season, missing at least one game on three separate occasions. He played just 12 snaps in his first return from injury, a game the Browns won without him on a last-minute touchdown run by Kareem Hunt.
The Browns won the bidding war for Watson in 2022 before they were the only team willing to give him a fully guaranteed contract. Watson reportedly eliminated Cleveland from consideration before they upped the ante.
Now they’re stuck together for the next three years. With the defense they put together and a healthy offense, however, the Browns can win games with him. They proved that in 2023 already, if they can keep the team together. And they did most of that without All-Pro RB Nick Chubb as well.
I know Watson is an easy target for opposing fans of the Browns, but he is good enough to win games on a good team. Like it or not, the Browns look to have a good team right now, and Watson could be enough. Their biggest problem is the AFC North with Joe Burrow in Cincinnati and Lamar Jackson in Baltimore.
I’m sure they wish they weren’t paying him $46 million, but the Browns know they can work with Watson. They also know that they can win with him. They could have won more if they had a better backup plan, which they could if they re-sign Joe Flacco. After all, with Watson’s contract, they can’t really do much else at quarterback. Nobody wants to sign with a team that has to pay a quarterback $138 million over the next three years.
