The Cleveland Browns have a clear setup for the quarterback position when the season opens on September 7 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Throughout the summer, short videos of Watson engaging in various football-related activities have surfaced on social media. These would then lead to a litany of posts proclaiming how great he looks, how the Browns have not “ruled out” the idea of him playing this fall, and that a “hard decision” is looming on the horizon for a player that still has two years left on his fully guaranteed contract.
Everything that can go wrong has gone wrong for Watson and the Browns ever since he arrived in Cleveland. An 11-game suspension by the NFL in 2022. A season-ending shoulder injury in 2023. A season-ending Achilles’ injury in 2024. And some of the worst quarterback play in NFL history.
While general manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski will never come out and rip a player in public - what value is there in doing that, after all? - they watch the same games, and they know that putting Watson into a game is a disaster waiting to happen.
So what is the plan for Watson?
Here is how the upcoming season can (should?) play out for the Browns and Watson:
It makes for good copy to overcomplicate this situation or create some wild scenario where Watson sees the field again in a Browns uniform. But the reality is so much simpler, and everyone comes out of it fine. The Browns don’t have to deal with a headache or poor quarterback play; Watson keeps cashing paychecks and moves another season away from his latest disastrous season.
As the NFL shows every year, sometimes the best thing for a quarterback is not to play for a season to allow everyone to forget that they were not very good the last time everyone saw them. It’s great that Watson wants to continue to play, rather than grow fat while collecting his salary, but the last thing he or the Browns need is for him to be on the field this fall.
Get through this season, then worry about what to do with Watson next summer.
It really can be that simple, even if we are talking about the Browns, where things rarely go smoothly.