Cleveland Browns open to a ‘fresh start’ with QB Deshaun Watson
Owner Jimmy Haslam says Watson has a chance to reclaim his former level of play under HC Todd Monken.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - NOVEMBER 19: Deshaun Watson #4 of the Cleveland Browns (L) talks with managing and principal partner Jimmy Haslam prior to a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns Stadium on November 19, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Getty Images Albert Einstein, when asked to explain the concept of relative time, would use the analogy of, “when you sit with a nice girl for two hours, you think it is only a minute, but when you sit on a hot stove for a minute you think it’s two hours. ” Cleveland Browns fans can relate to Einstein’s phrase when it comes to quarterback Deshaun Watson, who is entering the fifth and final year of the $230 million, fully guaranteed contract the team signed him to in 2022.
Given everything that has gone on since that fateful day, from a league suspension to below-average play and a pair of season-ending injuries, it has often felt more like 50 years that the Browns have been tied to Watson. The end was coming into sight this year, however, as the Browns just needed to get through the 2026 season with Watson on the sidelines, and then the club would be in a position to move on without the salary cap implications crippling the roster. But that seemingly simple plan that no one, outside of perhaps Watson’s agent, would complain about may have hit a bump in the road on Monday, thanks to owner Jimmy Haslam.
Speaking at the annual league meeting in Phoenix, where just a year earlier he declared the Watson trade a “swing and a miss,” Haslam now believes that it is time for a clean slate, thanks to the hiring of head coach Todd Monken ( quotes via the Beacon Journal ): “I don’t think anybody in our organization would question (Deshaun’s) effort, his toughness, everything he’s put in the job. … Now, Deshaun has a great chance, a fresh start, an offensive-minded coach who has, in his past, been able to work with all kinds of different quarterbacks and make them successful. So Deshaun has a great chance to do that now.
“We’ve got three guys who have been successful at various levels, and let’s see how the competition goes. And we have a head coach who’s been very good at developing all kinds of different quarterbacks. ” Oh boy!