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During the Cleveland Browns' Monday Night Football matchup with the Denver Broncos, ESPN's Joe Buck and Troy Aikman openly questioned Cleveland's decision to keep playing Deshaun Watson before his season-ending injury. After Watson went down with a season-ending Achilles injury, Jameis Winston has been playing quarterback for the Browns. With Winston under center, Cleveland has looked far more dynamic on offense. So much that it led to Aikman openly questioning what the Browns were thinking about sticking with Watson.
“Kevin Stefanski is an outstanding football coach, and he’s proven that, two-time Coach of the Year,” Aikman said. “What he did to that group last year to get them in the postseason, they started four quarterbacks, and they were decimated with injuries. And I get it, you know, this year hasn’t been what people thought coming in, but the albatross is Deshaun Watson.
“If you go to Jameis Winston earlier in the year, does this look different? Because I would say the defensive struggles, in at least a small part, have had to do with how inept the offense has been moving the football. I think it’s affected the defensive play as well.”
Winston put up some big numbers on Monday night. The Cleveland quarterback completed 34 of 58 passes for 497 yards and four touchdowns in a 41–32 loss. The downside was that the 30-year-old threw three interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns. Still, the Browns' offense has been far better with him as a quarterback.
What's the future at quarterback like for the Browns?
Watson is expected to fully recover from the Achilles rupture and will likely be ready for the start of next season. Barring any other controversy, he will be part of the Browns team in 2025. It's a shame since there's overwhelming data that Cleveland is better when Watson isn't playing. But it appears the Browns have no choice with how much money Watson makes.
However, the franchise wants to add more competition to the quarterback room. According to reports, the Browns will look to add players who can challenge Watson for the starting position.
“Until now, the Browns have built a quarterback room to support Watson. This year, they’ll look, through the draft and/or the veteran market, to add competition to the room,” wrote Breer. ” So while the likelihood — because of the injury and the contract — is Watson will be back, the Browns are going to look to do more than just stop-gap the backup spot.”
With Winston under center, the team could risk missing out on a top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. That means the team might not be able to draft a quality quarterback. However there is still an option to sign someone in free agency.
