The Cleveland Browns continue to be the NFL’s most dysfunctional team. Following Cleveland’s 31-7 preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills on Saturday — a game in which quarterback Deshaun Watson completed just 5 of 12 passes for 36 yards and an interception — the 30-year-old signal-caller called out Browns fans for cheering when he tore his Achilles during the 2024 season. His behavior didn’t set well with just about everyone except for the team’s brain trust, who named Watson the Week 1 starting QB on Monday despite seemingly everyone urging the team to go with Shedeur Sanders.
He encouraged the Browns to cut Watson, absorb his $40.9 million dead-cap charge since they’d be paying him anyway if he was on the roster, and put an end to one of the worst periods in the franchise’s history. I think it might have been,” Brandt stated. I would maybe deactivate him — take your pick.
You don’t want him as a backup, and I don’t think anybody on the team wants Deshaun Watson as a starter, including Deshaun. You don’t openly engage and antagonize the fan base after another crap performance a couple weeks before the opener if you actually want the starting job.” Brandt also pointed out that the turmoil currently surrounding the team — some fans have stated on social media they won’t publicly support the Browns any more as long as Watson is their starter — is of its own doing. Should he struggle in those two games, Cleveland could then switch to Sanders in Week 3 when the team plays the Carolina Panthers in the first home game of the season.
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