The Cleveland Browns have had all kinds of adventures with the quarterback position this fall.
Kenny Pickett, who many still believe was the presumptive starter, is biding his time with the Las Vegas Raiders,
waiting for head coach Pete Carroll to wake up to the realization that Geno Smith is not a starting quarterback.
Joe Flacco, the actual starter when the season opened, is now plying his trade with the Cincinnati Bengals following the first completed trade between the Browns and the Bengals. A seemingly minor transaction involving a player the Browns no longer needed, it may have actually been the Browns attempting to sabotage the Pittsburgh Steelers in their quest for the AFC North Division title.
The Browns have now turned to rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel as the starter while simultaneously continuing their nefarious plan to sabotage the career of rookie Shedeur Sanders.
And don’t forget about Bailey Zappe, currently on ice as a member of the practice squad.
What’s that? There are still people who think that Deshaun Watson, who has only played in 19 games since 2020 while dealing with an NFL suspension, a broken shoulder, and not one but two tears of his Achilles’ tendon, will see the field for the Browns this season?
It has been clear since early this year that the Browns have moved on from Watson and have no plans to let him suit up for the team ever again. However, for reasons that are not entirely clear, head coach Kevin Stefanski is frequently asked for an update.
Wednesday’s media session was another example, and Stefanski kept his response clear and simple by saying there is “no real update” on opening Watson’s 21-day practice window. And, as ways, Watson is “doing great in his rehab.”
Because Watson continues to post short workout videos showing him throwing passes in an empty fieldhouse, some people still cling to the idea that he is returning this season with the Browns. But the truth, at least according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, is that Watson is “a good month away” from being cleared for any football activity, as he said this week on the Pat McAfee Show:
So let’s work off the idea that Watson is still a month away from being cleared, at which point the Browns can open his practice window:
- A month away puts Watson and the Browns, at the earliest, on November 10.
- If they bring him back at that point, the Browns have three weeks of practice before deciding if they want to activate Watson to the 53-man roster or put him on season-ending injured reserve.
- The team is now 12 weeks into the season, it is the beginning of December, and there are just five games remaining.
- If Watson is truly healthy, or if the Browns just don’t want to get into a fight with the players’ union, they can theoretically activate Watson to the 53-man roster. Someone will need to be dropped from the end of the roster, but that is life in the NFL.
- From that point on, simply make him a gameday inactive for the rest of the season. Healthy players are on the inactive list every week, which, again, is life in the NFL.
- Who is going to complain about this, other than the same talking heads who have been screaming about the Browns and Sanders? Certainly not the fans, who have seen enough of Watson in a Cleveland uniform and have moved on.
- If Watson or his agent complains, who is going to be sympathetic to their cause?
This is all based on Watson being cleared at some point this fall, which is nowhere near a guarantee. And it assumes the Browns want anything to do with Watson being back at practice with everything else they are dealing with surrounding the quarterback position.
The Browns are culpable in the Watson fiasco by trading for him and then handing him $230 million. But what’s done is done, and there is no reason to continue the facade that Watson is part of the team’s plans.
