3 Cleveland Browns Replacements for Deshaun Watson That Will Definitely Fail

You’ll be shocked to know that Deshaun Watson didn’t improve much between Week 5 and Week 6. Watson is a bit of a mess, admittedly. He has settled most of his civil sexual harassment and sexual assault lawsuits, but Watson continues to be a distraction for the wrong reasons.

Make no mistake: The Browns signed up for this mess. Cleveland is so desperate for a Super Bowl that it is willing to sell its soul, which makes rooting for the Browns impossible. Again, I would love to see any team win their first title, but the Browns made it difficult. Watson is, by dozens of reports, a bad person who should not be making the money he has since accumulated. However, the NFL pays players based on talent and talent alone.

However, even in this sense, paying Watson makes little sense. He has been one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL so far this season. Heck, Browns fans are even calling Jameis Winston (more on that later), which is an insult in and of itself.

Replacing Watson with Winston will not end well for several reasons, the first of which is the most important. Winston is turnover-prone and the Browns can’t afford to give up on the real estate market. With a backup quarterback in the game, it’s unlikely Cleveland will score more points than they would with Watson. Let’s be real: The Browns’ issues go beyond Watson. He’s an easy scapegoat, and the backup QB is the most popular player on the team.

Therefore, if Cleveland were to start Winston, it would be wise to employ a run-oriented game plan. Jameis is the first overall pick for a reason, but he’s also the same player who had a 30-30 season in the NFC South. The Browns won’t win a playoff game with Winston — he’s no Joe Flacco — but he could present more opportunities on offense than Watson.

The truth is, Winston is not a long-term replacement for Watson. He could appease the fan base and give the Browns a few weeks of practice time to figure out what’s wrong with Deshaun.

Watson is stuck on the Browns roster whether he likes it or not. Cleveland’s long-term commitment to Deshaun could hurt them for years to come, which is terrible and hilarious at the same time. Watson doesn’t deserve that money, but Haslam shouldn’t have granted him that in the first place. I could have told him that years ago.

However, if the Browns decide to replace Watson, their best bet is to do so through the NFL Draft. Getting a quarterback on a rookie contract is the best bet for making money in the NFL, and the Browns could have a player like Sanders for five years if they so choose. And yes, this contract would be cheap.

I don’t know if Sanders is real, and the idea of ​​Deion Sanders hanging around training camp in Cleveland is less than ideal. However, the Browns don’t have many options and Shedeur showed enough in college to have a chance.

Is Carson Beck a guarantee? Not so fast, my friend. No quarterback is a sure thing, but Beck will likely be one of the top QBs drafted next April, and for good reason. Beck just set a record for most yards in a game by a Georgia quarterback, and that list includes Matthew Stafford. According to most experts, Beck should be the top QB candidate drafted in 2025 over Quinn Ewers. NFL teams always reach for quarterbacks — just look back to last April — which means Beck should be in the top three.

Trading for Beck carries risks, but the Browns are desperate. They could start the UGA product right away, and by many accounts it is as ready as it gets. The Browns have a capable defense and solid weapons on the outside. It’s unclear whether Watson would accept the competition, but at worst it would light a fire under him.

Assuming Watson doesn’t improve dramatically, Cleveland should consider all of its options, the cheapest of which will come next April.