The Cleveland Browns will end their season with a 3-14 record, assuming they cannot get past the Baltimore Ravens. Following a 2023 playoff berth, the Browns have completely regressed in 2024.
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A big reason for this could be due to the team sticking by quarterback Deshaun Watson. The once-great Pro Bowl passer struggled to find his footing in 2024 and suffered his second season-ending injury when he suffered a torn Achilles in October.
Though there were rumblings that the Browns would simply cut Watson and move on, however, his release would trigger a record $172 million in dead cap. The team chose to rework his contract, pushing his dead salary cap into 2030, according to ESPN.
Watson is a very expensive problem to have for the Browns. Though he did not live up to expectations, the team is not going to cut him. Instead, they have chosen to keep him around, even if they sign another quarterback in 2025.
Many in the league believe that Watson will have to compete for the starting position. A report on the Browns from ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Daniel Oyefusi details many opinions on the fact that Watson will not be guaranteed QB1.
"As Watson rehabs another injury in Miami, more than 1,200 miles away from his teammates, the rest of the NFL world wonders where he will be in eight months. Even when considering the difficulty of recovering from an Achilles tear -- Aaron Rodgers and Kirk Cousins both had substandard seasons in 2024 coming off the same injury, though both are considerably older than the 29-year-old Watson -- the physical is not the chief concern for most league observers."
"If he's right mentally, then he should be able to win a quarterback competition in two days with his athleticism and arm," an NFL coordinator said of Watson.
Watson might win the quarterback competition early on, but it will be up to his confidence in returning from his second season-ending injury.
"The working theory leaguewide is the Browns keep Watson for one more year and foster competition with another veteran and/or draft pick, tightening the walls around Watson and forcing him to win the job. Team sources consider such a scenario -- Watson battling it out with another vet for QB1 status in camp -- possible. The Browns also have a 93.2% chance of having a top-5 pick in April's draft."
The Browns are going to be picking high in the NFL draft, meaning they are likely going to take one of the highly touted quarterbacks coming out of college. Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders being the top two prospects right now, means they are likely to get a good look by Cleveland.
"[The Browns] need to go get their guy," an AFC executive said. "If it's safe to assume that Deshaun is not that, then there's really no other choice."
Watson has become a proverbial thorn in the side of the Browns. His massive contract makes it difficult to just move on, and his play has not rebounded in the way that the team has hoped for.
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For now, the Browns are likely to pursue someone like Kirk Cousins or Sam Bradford, while also picking up a college prospect. Either way, it looks as though Watson will have a hill to climb if he wants to command the offense in 2025.
For more on the Browns, head to Newsweek Sports.
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