What will it take for Deshaun Watson to turn around his season?
Things haven’t gone well for the Cleveland Browns in 2024, including Nick Chubb revealing dark thoughts about last year’s injury. Also, they shipped top receiver Amari Cooper off to Buffalo for a couple of better rounds in the draft. Now they’ve been slapped with a “done” admission from rival coaches on the future of quarterback Deshaun Watson.
First, let’s remember how much money Watson soaked up from the Browns’ organization, not to mention the three first-round picks they sent to the Texans. The Browns paid Watson $230 in fully guaranteed money, and reportedly can’t get out of the deal until 2027. Yikes.
Browns QB Deshaun Watson struggling
Watson hasn't topped 200 yards passing in a game this season. That's wretched by NFL standards. Even rival coaches think Watson may be toast, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.
“There's no strategy, no front-office maneuvering that can make this more palatable should he continue to struggle,” Fowler said. “I'm still baffled by Watson's play and hold a sliver of hope that a once-top-five quarterback can regain the confidence a 29-year-old should have in his game. But even coaches who have prepared for Watson this season and recently held that same hope are now admitting he looks done.”
But Fowler said he thinks there is hope Watson could still find a higher gear. He completed 11 of his final 12 passes Sunday against Philadelphia in a game the Browns had a chance to win.
“There's still enough talent on the roster to string together a few wins and camouflage the uneven quarterback play,” Fowler said. “The Browns believe they aren't that far off. That could buy Watson more time to find any sort of rhythm with his receivers, whose chemistry with the quarterback has been middle-school-dance awkward thus far. But now, Amari Cooper is off to Buffalo, traded away on Tuesday.
Could there be another NFL home for Deshaun Watson?
The question arises as to whether the Browns should trade Watson at this point. Still, ESPN’s Dan Graziano doesn’t see an out for the Browns, barring a suspension.
“Unless he gets suspended again and the Browns can void the guarantees, it's hard to imagine any scenario in which he isn't on their roster through at least 2025 and probably 2026, Graziano said. “This is a sunk cost at this point from a cash perspective, and the Haslams can handle the money.
“But because of the contract restructures they've done with Watson the past two offseasons, the cap hit they'd take by releasing him is prohibitive. Cutting him after this season would result in a dead-money cap hit of almost $173 million. Even if they split that up over the 2025 and 2026 seasons, each half would represent the highest dead-money hit ever. Cutting him after next season would result in a dead cap hit of nearly $100 million.
“As for a trade? Setting aside the legitimate question of who in the world would trade for him, even moving the remaining $92 million salary off their books would still leave them with a dead-money hit of almost $81 million.”
