Nick Wright is the latest pundit to dunk on Deshaun Watson and the Browns.
Deshaun Watson's Browns tenure has been a nightmare for Cleveland. After trading for the former Texans quarterback and then giving him a fully-guaranteed $230 million contract, Watson has given the Browns some of the worst quarterback play in the NFL over the past three seasons when he has been on the field.
After another dud from Watson and the Browns offense in Week 1, Nick Wright went in on the Browns decision to trade for Watson on Tuesday's The Herd with Colin Cowherd.
“He's unmovable, he's uncuttable and he's unplayable,” Wright said of Watson. “I think Jameis (Winston) gives them a better option, but this is without question the worst transaction in NFL history.”
Wright's rant comes on the heels of another lawsuit filed against Watson for sexual assault and battery. The new lawsuit comes after more than 20 different lawsuits were filed back in 2021 accusing Watson of sexual misconduct.
Should the Browns bench Deshaun Watson?
Any optimism from Browns fans that the Deshaun Watson experiment is going to work out took another massive hit on Sunday. The Browns offense was untenable against the Cowboys in a 33-17 drubbing in Cleveland, and the quarterback play was a major problem all afternoon.
Watson finished the day 24-for-45 with just 169 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. His QBR was only 9.3, which ranked last in the NFL in Week 1. The Browns offense struggled to get off the ground all day, and didn't get into the end zone at all until the game was already out of reach in the second half.
Jameis Winston is sitting behind Watson as the Browns' backup, and at this moment, he gives the team the best chance to win. Purely based on football reasons, Winston at least gives the Browns a formula that they can follow to win. Winston can operate in a run-heavy offense and he can push the ball down the field in Kevin Stefanski's play-action heavy scheme. Winston puts the ball in harm's way too much, but that's something that Cleveland can manage.
Watson currently gives the Browns no real advantages from the quarterback position. His accuracy has evaporated and he doesn't see open men in the middle of the field. He still has good escapability, but that leads him to flee from clean pockets too early, and he's inconsistent hitting receivers when on the run after he gets outside.
The prospect of benching Winston gets more difficult when you consider the contract situation. Watson's cap hit is just under $28 million this season after the Browns kicked the can down the road a bit, but he's on the books for almost $73 million dollars in each of the next two seasons. How does a front office justify benching a guy making that kind of money after they invested so much to bring him in?
All in all, this saga appears to be headed in one direction, and that's downwards. If Watson can't turn his play around, it might be a long season in Cleveland.
