Over the previous two seasons, the Cleveland Browns have improved significantly, but not because of quarterback Deshaun Watson, but rather in spite of him.
Although the Browns have improved over the last two seasons to become an 11-win playoff team, general manager Andrew Berry’s trade of Watson to the Houston Texans currently seems to be by far the worst in team history.
In light of Watson’s $230 million fully guaranteed contract and the fact that the quarterback has only started 12 games in two seasons, Cleveland should at the very least think about cutting ties with Berry in light of the poor managerial decisions made during the Watson trade. This is especially important as the team approaches the 2024 offseason.
The success of quarterback Baker Mayfield with the Tampa Buccaneers in 2023—a team that finished first in its division and narrowly missed a trip to the NFC Championship Game after falling short by one score to the Detroit Lions on Sunday night, January 21—supports the idea that the decisions Berry made collectively to acquire Watson equate to a fireable offence.
Deshaun Watson’s Disappointment Has Increased Since Joining the Browns
The Browns were a good team all season long, but their defense—which was excellent at home but sometimes vacillated between respectable and very questionable when facing top opponents away—was the main factor in their success. During Super Wild Card Weekend in Houston, the Texans defeated the Browns, 45-14, outscoring the team that tricked them into taking Watson.
Watson wasn’t involved in the match. Due to a season-ending shoulder injury he had in November, he had to watch from the sidelines instead. This season, Watson made just six starts for the Browns. Despite going 5-1 as the beginning, his output was merely average, and Cleveland’s offence was far from spectacular. According to Pro Football Reference, the quarterback only completed 61.4% of his passes for 1,115 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions.
Because of an 11-game NFL suspension stemming from over two dozen allegations of sexual misconduct, Watson only started six games in 2022, his first season with the Browns. Berry and the rest of Cleveland’s front office largely ignored or attempted to avoid these off-field issues both during and after they acquired the divisive quarterback.
Berry and company also chose to overlook the fact that Watson had been a three-time consecutive Pro Bowl player for the Houston Texans from 2018 and 2021 (with salary). This was after Watson wanted a trade, and the charges started to mount.
In addition to adding $64 million to the Browns’ salary cap sheet in each of the upcoming three seasons, Watson will cost an average of $46 million a year throughout the course of his five-year contract, which runs from the 2022 season to the 2026 campaign.
The cost of Baker Mayfield has been and will continue to be exponentially less than that of Deshaun Watson.
Prior to deciding to trade for Watson, the Browns exercised the $18.858 million fifth-year option on Mayfield’s contract for the 2022 season. Of that total, Cleveland has to agree to pay $10.5 million in order to finalize Mayfield’s trade to the Carolina Panthers in the summer of 2022. Mayfield’s non-Browns cost that season about $5 million, as he had to forfeit $3.5 million to make the trade work.
Over the course of that season, Mayfield bounced around from Carolina to the Los Angeles Rams before signing with Tampa Bay for a pitiful $4 million. So, practically speaking, during the preceding two seasons, Mayfield only cost non-Cleveland clubs $9 million.
Deshaun Watson Has Not Outperformed Baker Mayfield Since the Browns Trade in 2022
In 2023, Mayfield completed 64.3% of his passes. Along the route to a 9-8 record and the NFC South Division Championship, he gained 4,044 passing yards and threw for 28 touchdowns—both career highs—while only throwing 10 interceptions.
The Bucs then overcame the Philadelphia Eagles, the reigning NFC champions, by a score of 32-9 thanks to 337 yards and three touchdowns. In an 8-point defeat on Sunday, the quarterback bravely battled in Detroit, passing for 349 yards and three touchdowns. On the last drive of the game, Mayfield did make his second pick of the match, a game-winning interception to the Lions defence.
Even still, over the past two seasons, Mayfield has outperformed Watson as an NFL quarterback in terms of leadership, health, and productivity, and the difference isn’t even close. In addition, Mayfield has received $9 million in guaranteed compensation from rival teams in the last two years, while Watson has embezzled $92 million from the Browns and still owes them an additional $138 million.
There might not be a reason for Cleveland to fire its general manager if such is the case.
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