The Deshaun Watson experiment is not going to plan for the Browns.
Deshaun Watson's 2024-25 season started with an eerily similar performance to the ones he was putting out there over the last two seasons in a Browns uniform. To put a long story short, it was bad. The Browns offense was a mess for most of Sunday's blowout loss against the Dallas Cowboys, and the passing game was as bad as it gets.
Watson finished the game 24-for-45 with 169 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He was sacked six times, and while the offensive line wasn't great, there are plenty of instances where Watson holds the ball too long or steps into pressure and gets himself in trouble. Some Browns fans are already hitting the panic button on their highly-paid quarterback already; here are three reasons why they're wise to do so.
Watson's vision and feel for the game have evaporated
Watson isn't seeing the game well at all since he was traded to Cleveland. His pocket feel has always been shaky, but recently he seems to have no awareness as to where pressure is coming from or if it's coming at all. Oftentimes, he will bail backwards out of clean pockets, looping back around the pass rush and giving them an angle to create pressure that wasn't there originally. He also will sometimes step into pressure and take unnecessary sacks.
Down the field, Watson isn't finding guys breaking open, especially over the middle. There are instances in seemingly every game where he has receivers open on posts or deep digs and just doesn't see them or doesn't throw it to them. It seems as if he's choosing which receiver is going to get the ball before it is even snapped, and it's either going there or he's trying to pick something up with his feet. His tunnel vision is really hurting the offense and it's not a sustainable way to play quarterback.
His superpower has diminished significantly
One of the things that made Watson one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL when he was in Houston was his escapability and his creativity. Watson was one of the best off-script players in the league, and consistently created something out of nothing when the play broke down. He's still very strong and can get out of sacks, but he doesn't have the same twitchy athleticism and speed to run away from defenders like he used to.
Getting back to the first point, even when Watson does get outside the pocket, he's not finding the big plays down the field that he used to because he isn't seeing them. He escaped the pocket a few times against the Cowboys, but ended up still taking sacks, throwing the ball away or checking it down. On the rare occasions that he does find someone, his accuracy has become so sporadic and his arm strength has waned after his shoulder surgery that he often misses the throw.
If this were a one-off performance, it wouldn't be a cause for concern. However, this is the third consecutive season following the same patterns: inaccurate throws, missing open guys, taking bad sacks, etc.
The Browns may have no way out
The disaster that is Watson's contract is well-documented at this point, but it really gives the Browns no good way out of it at this point. They've continued to put off paying the bulk of his fully guaranteed, $230 million contract, and he's on the books for just about $28 million this year, but the team owes him nearly $73 million in each of the next two seasons.
There is a chance that the deal gets voided depending on the result of the latest lawsuit filed against Watson for sexual assault on Monday, but that is still in the early stages so it's too early to call what the result will be.
Watson's cap hit over the next two years becomes a massive hurdle in building out the roster, which is currently constructed of a Super-Bowl caliber defense and a bottom-feeder level offense. If Watson was even being overpaid a regular amount and not an outrageous amount, it may give Cleveland the flexibility it needs to beef up the offensive line and add another pass-catching weapon opposite Amari Cooper.
The prospect of benching Watson becomes a tricky proposition due to his deal as well. How can you justify to the front office or the fans that a guy on the first fully guaranteed contract in league history can't help you win games? On the other hand, how can you justify to the rest of your players, including your elite defense, that Watson gives you the best chance to reach your ceiling?
In all likelihood, Jameis Winston gives the Browns the best chance to win games right now with this roster. Even if he's reckless and erratic, he gives you a chance to make explosive plays and utilize your personnel to the best of their ability, which Watson is not doing at the moment. However, Cleveland might be stuck lying in the bed they made whether they like it or not.
