THE Cleveland Browns face a major decision regarding starting quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Watson was acquired from the Houston Texans in a blockbuster trade in 2022.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson has struggled for a variety of reasons since joining from the Houston Texans[/caption]
The trade and subsequent contract extension guaranteed Watson $230million.
Cleveland gave up six draft picks, including three first rounders, in order to acquire Watson.
He has since failed to deliver – amid poor performances, injuries and a slew of off-field issues.
Watson’s struggles had continued with the lowest Total QBR of any qualified passer in the NFL.
The Browns were 1-5 from any of his six starts, while the team also failed to reach 20 points in any of those games.
However, he then sustained a season-ending injury with a right Achilles tendon tear in Week 7.
And Andrew Berry, the Brown’s general manager, refused to confirm his standing within the franchise for 2025.
Speaking to reporters during the team’s bye week, Berry said: “Really our focus with Deshaun.
“I would say for any player with a season-ending injury and a major injury [our focus], is first and foremost and to make sure that he gets healthy from the Achilles injury,
“Everything else, we’ll deal with at a later moment.”
Watson represents $72.9m in cap space in the 2025 and 2026 seasons. Both said to be the second-highest in the NFL.
But if the team were to part with him, they would take on dead cap hits of $172m and $99m in 2025 and 2026.
Despite Watson’s struggles, Berry said he was in full support of coach Kevin Stefanski’s decision to keep starting him before the injury.
And when asked about whether the Watson trade was his mandate or from ownership, he said: “All of us were on board.”
However, he confirmed it was possible for Watson to make a comeback as the team’s starting quarterback.
Berry said of the 29-year-old: “Yeah, I think that’s always possible.”
He later insisted that the team’s offensive issues were not only down to Watson.
He added: “We haven’t played well as a team and we haven’t played well as a unit on offense.
“I think oftentimes when you don’t play well on offense, obviously your starting quarterback and your playcaller will get the most criticism.
“But the reality of it is, offenses, it comes down to organization and synchronization.
“There’s just a lot of shared ownership across the different position groups in terms of why we didn’t perform.”
Watson served an 11-game suspension to start the 2022 season after more than 24 women accused him of sexual assault and inappropriate conduct during massage sessions, which he denied.
Criminal charges were never brought against Watson, but in the summer of 2022 he reached settlements with 23 of the 24 civil lawsuits he faced.
In September a Houston woman named “Jane Doe” filed a lawsuit against Watson accusing him of sexual assault and battery in October 2020.
The lawsuit alleged the incident happened before a dinner date at her apartment.
The NFL said it was reviewing the latest allegations made against Watson under the league’s personal conduct policy.
A statement from NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the commissioner’s exempt list is not being considered because “there’s been no formal charges and the league’s review has just begun.”
Watson denied the latest allegation against him before it was settled in October.
