The start of the 2024 season went about as badly as it possibly could for Deshaun Watson and the Cleveland Browns. The club suffered a 33-17 beatdown at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys at home in a game where the veteran quarterback struggled mightily. Watson finished his day with just 169 yards passing on 45 attempts to go along with one passing touchdown and two interceptions.
That play has led to outside discussion regarding Watson possibly being benched at some point soon. However, those same conversations are apparently not going on internally. The Athletic reports there has been no discussion within the Browns organization of benching Watson in favor of backups Jameis Winston or Dorian Thompson-Robinson. In fact, there is reportedly strong belief in the building that Watson can rediscover the on-field ability he displayed earlier in his career with the Houston Texans.
Watson completed just 53% of his passes in the opening loss and was 0-for-10 passing on throws that traveled 15 or more yards through the air. His 2.2 yards per attempt when targeting wide receivers in Week 1 was the second lowest by any quarterback in a game in the last 10 seasons (minimum of 20 attempts).
The 29-year-old is in his third season with the Browns after the organization gave up substantial assets -- including three first-round picks to acquire him via trade with Houston in 2022. Not only that, the club signed Watson to a five-year, $230 million deal that was fully guaranteed. Thus far, they've yet to see a palatable return on that investment, as Watson has yet to register a game of at least 300 yards passing with the Browns.
As Watson battles struggles on the field, he continues to be embroiled in controversy off it as well. He was previously suspended for six games in 2022 due to sexual harassment allegations. Recently, another civil lawsuit alleging sexual misconduct from an incident in 2020 has emerged. CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones has reported the allegations in this civil lawsuit would not be covered under his reinstatement deal with the league. That could again find Watson facing punishment from the league and potentially seeing the guarantees in his contract void.
