The Cleveland Browns will have QB Deshaun Watson on the roster next season, but there is no guarantee that he will be the starter.
Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report factored that heavily into his projection for soon-to-be free agent quarterback Justin Fields, formerly the starter for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who will hit the market in March 2025. Knox named Fields the 10th-most valuable free agent heading into next year.
“Fields ranks high on our board because of his age, physical skills, positional value and continued growth,” Knox wrote on Wednesday, November 6. “If a team isn’t sold on prospects like Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders, it may be eager to take a flier on Fields instead. … Teams seeking a new long-term quarterback plan — possibly on a budget — like the Browns and [New York] Jets may target Fields early in free agency.”
Deshaun Watson Has Proven Unreliable From Health, Play Standpoints Since Joining Browns
Watson finished last season injured following shoulder surgery, and the outcome will be the same this year after rupturing his Achilles tendon.
The QB has never put together a full campaign cross three seasons in Cleveland, as an 11-game suspension from the NFL for off-field conduct issues involving more than two dozen accusations of sexual misconduct disrupted his first year.
And when Watson has played, he has played poorly. He has a record of 19-19 in Cleveland and has thrown for just 3,365 yards, 19 TDs and 12 INTs over that span.
As such, general manager Andrew Berry would not commit to Watson as the team’s starter moving forward. The Browns fully guaranteed Watson’s $230 million deal, which runs through the 2026 season and carries salary cap hits of $73 million in each of the next two years.
Watson’s future is even murkier with the Browns given Berry’s answer to a specific question of whether Watson will ever play quarterback in any capacity for the team again.
“I think that’s always possible,” Berry said earlier this week.
Justin Fields Should Be Affordable Free Agent Option Next Offseason
Fields hasn’t been overly successful considering his draft position (No. 11 overall in 2021 by the Chicago Bears), but he’s not a bust yet either.
He started the year 4-2 for the Steelers before the team decided to replace him with Russell Wilson. Fields had issues will ball security from a fumbling perspective, though he accounted for 10 total TDs against just 1 INT over that stretch.
He produced the second-most prolific rushing campaign from the QB position of all time in 2022, gaining 1,143 yards on 7.1 yards per carry and scoring 8 TDs on the ground for the Bears. Fields is still just 25 years old and playing in the final season of his $19 million rookie contract.
Fields will, of course, look for the biggest deal he can find in the offseason. However, his 14-30 record as a starter, the fact that Pittsburgh demoted him this year and the issues he still has as a pocket passer and protector of the football all point to a one- or two-year prove-it contract for Fields next March.
That means he is likely to be more affordable, which is exactly the type of QB the Browns need considering how draining Watson’s contract is going to be over the next two seasons.
