In an early 2025 mock draft that was recently shared online, the Draft Wire's Curt Popejoy has the Cleveland Browns deciding to begin the process of moving on from quarterback Deshaun Watson by using their first-round pick on current Georgia signal-caller Carson Beck.
In 14 games with Georgia last season, the 6-foot-4, 215-pound Beck completed 72.4% of his passes for 3,941 yards, 24 touchdowns and six interceptions. He's viewed by some as one of the top quarterback prospects who could be available in the 2025 draft.
The Browns drafting Beck in 2025 would certainly be a monumental admission of failure by the organization. However, it would also show that Cleveland's front office is committed to fixing their potential problem at the quarterback position instead of continuing to hope Watson will regain the Pro Bowl form that he had during the early part of his NFL career with the Houston Texans.
Back during the 2022 offseason, the Browns made the bold decision to complete a blockbuster trade with the Texans to acquire Watson, a three-time Pro Bowl quarterback. Cleveland not only sent Houston a compensation package that included three first-round picks, but they then went ahead and signed Watson to a fully guaranteed $230M contract that doesn't expire until 2027.
Unfortunately, the veteran quarterback has only appeared in 12 of a possible 34 games since he was acquired by the Browns in 2022, thanks to a suspension and multiple injuries. So, if Watson fails to lead Cleveland to a satisfying amount of success again during the upcoming season, then Popejoy's prediction in his early 2025 mock draft would become much more believable.
The Browns selecting a new signal-caller in the 2025 draft would also cause plenty of intrigue as many would be interested in finding out how the team would potentially move on from Watson and his fully guaranteed contract.
Since all of the money in his contract is fully guaranteed, Cleveland will be left with a dead cap of at least $17M if they trade or release him before his deal expires during the 2027 offseason.
We've recently seen other NFL teams take on significant cap hits in order to move on from a quarterback earlier than expected, including the Denver Broncos with Russell Wilson ($53M cap hit in 2024) and the Minnesota Vikings with Kirk Cousins ($28.5M dead cap hit in 2024).
With this already taking place, the Browns moving on from Watson before his deal expires might not come as big of a surprise compared to if it were a decision that was made just a few years ago.
However, it wouldn't make the potential move any less disappointing for Cleveland after they had so much hope for their future when they acquired the quarterback in 2022.
