In 15 games as the Cleveland Browns starting quarterback over the last two-plus seasons, Deshaun Watson has compiled a 9-6 record. At first glance, this looks promising, but any Browns fans who has watched the games, or analyst who has dug deep into the stats can tell you Cleveland's $230 million quarterback has been holding his team back.

First, there are the basic numbers that register as troubling, like a sub-60 completion percentage, a plummeting quarterback rating, a drastic dip in yards per game, or a 17-to-11 touchdown to interception ratio, which is far worse than the 104-to-36 touchdown to interception ratio Watson had in four seasons with the Houston Texans. Then, there are the advanced stats, like these provided by Austin Gayle of The Ringer.

Now, with this said, the Cleveland Browns recent run of quarterback play — and by recent run I mean a quarter-century sample size — has been well-documented and as sad as the end of “A Star Is Born.” It's not as if Watson is competing with a murder's row of signal-callers here. Nobody in Northeast Ohio will be telling their grandchildren stories about watching Brian Hoyer, Kelly Holcomb or Tim Couch slinging the pigskin on Sunday afternoons.

So why don't we compare Deshaun Watson to his peers currently in the NFL?

Again, the longer you look at it, the worse this situation looks. But in some way, the Browns knew what they were signing up for when they moved all of their chips to the center of the table in March 2022.

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New York Giants linebacker Brian Burns (0) strip sacks Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) during the first half at Huntington Bank Field.
© Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

When the Browns traded three 1st-round picks, a 3rd-round pick, and two 4th-round picks for Watson, it was coming on the heels of a tumultuous twelve months in which Watson had, A) Demanded a trade from the Texans, B) Sat out the entire 2021 season after the Texans refused to trade him, and C) Been sued by two female massage therapists who had accused him of sexual harassment and assault.

Still, the Browns were quick to pony up a 5-year, $230 million contract which was fully guaranteed… the largest in NFL history.

After a disappointing loss to the New York Giants, the Browns are currently 1-2 and it's more clear than ever that Watson biggest problem the team has at this point. The Browns have winnable games against the Raiders and Commanders the next two weeks, before entering into a six week gauntlet that includes games against the Eagles, Bengals, Ravens, Chargers, Saints, and Steelers.