Fixing the Browns Part 2: Moving on from the Deshaun Watson era

Moving forward from the Deshaun Watson era is key for the Browns

In life, we all take risks. Whether it’s leaving a current job for a job that will provide better opportunities or taking the next step in a relationship with our significant other. To win a Super Bowl, you need an elite quarterback to put you over the top in order to reach the coveted Lombardi that many fail to reach.

The Cleveland Browns had built a roster capable of making the postseason but the thing that was missing was the quarterback that put them over the top. Current Tampa Bay Buccaneers and former Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield was competent in his four years but his inconsistency led to him being expendable.

So when Cleveland chose to move on from Mayfield and trade for quarterback Deshaun Watson, who was dealing with off-the-field issues, many questioned why they did it. Many believe it would’ve propelled the Browns to get to that illusive Super Bowl but the team never got close to that goal and the guy they brought in never helped them.

If it’s not apparent enough, the Deshaun Watson era in Cleveland is over. The recent article published by Jason Lloyd of the Athletic detailed how the era went up and smoke but it confirmed what many believed.

A couple of excerpts from the article that stood out to me.

• Former Browns offensive line coach Bill Callahan would’ve stayed had the team kept offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt (Callahan eventually left for the Tennessee Titans to coach with his son, Brian)
• Head coach Kevin Stefanski was hesitant to call out Watson’s struggles which led to some frustration from a few players
• When Watson tore his Achilles, the team felt a cloud was lifted (which is a telling sign about how they felt about Watson being there)
• A member of the team felt they should’ve brought back quarterback Joe Flacco because Flacco knew the offense better than Watson isn’t a surprise (it wouldn’t have mattered if Flacco came back considering how he played poorly in Indianapolis)

I go back to this tweet by 92.3 the Fan’s Anthony Lima he posted on Sunday:

Again, as I’ve repeated multiple times. Cleveland took a swing and it didn’t work out. However, the team coddling the quarterback in which they overhauled the entire offense to fit his skillset only for him to look completely inept wasn’t a surprise. After the Washington Commanders game, I decided to re-watch the All-22 (mainly the offense) and I almost broke my iPad in the process.

Watson was atrocious and in my mind I thought to myself “He can’t be the starter next season, in no way shape or form.” Stefanski chose to fire both offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and offensive line coach Andy Dickerson right after the season, and during the exit interview, Stefanski didn’t give Watson a vote of confidence.

The Browns chose to make this move because, in the end, the team would have potentially ended up in a situation in which everyone would’ve been gone because the quarterback is either unreliable or incapable of taking the team to where they wanted to be.

Watson was never fully embraced in Cleveland (for reasons that are justified) but his play never gave the fanbase any hope. Just more questions and those questions led to more frustration. After he re-tore his surgically repaired Achilles, he will be out for all of 2025 and his tenure with Cleveland is likely over.

It was a risk when they agreed to trade for him with many believing it was a bad decision but Cleveland ended up proving those people right. At the end of the day, we ask ourselves this question. Was Cleveland better off staying with the guy who is in Tampa Bay if they knew this was going to happen? Probably. But we were likely going to be back in the same spot we are in now. With the Watson era being over, the team can now focus on finding a new signal caller. Again.