Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson had yet another uninspiring performance in the Cleveland Browns Week 2 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football. Once regarded as one of the best and most valuable players in the NFL, Watson has failed to recapture his form dating back to his days with the Houston Texans.
Watson is arguably the most polarizing player in the NFL. Since March 2021, 26 different women have stepped forward and filed civil lawsuits against Watson for sexual misconduct. However, that didn’t stop the Browns from mortgaging their future to trade for Watson amid the ongoing legal matters.
The Browns sent three first-round picks, two fourth-round picks, and a third-round pick to the Texans in exchange for Watson in March 2022 then handed him a fully-guaranteed contract worth $230 million. The franchise paid a steep price for a player they thought would contribute to winning right away, but that has been far from the case.
Watson led the NFL in passing yards (4,823) in 2020 before sitting out the entire 2021 season due to his involvement in sexual misconduct lawsuits. After serving a 10-game suspension in 2022, Watson made his Browns debut and looked like a shell of himself.
In six starts in 2022, Watson had a 3-3 record and averaged 183.7 passing yards per game with a 58.2 completion percentage. The passing yards per game and completion percentage are the lowest marks of his career to date (excluding the first two games of 2023).
The 2023 hasn’t fared much better for Watson thus far. He has an even lower completion percentage than last year (55.1) and ranks near the bottom of the NFL in total QBR (29.3).
Will Watson ever be able to turn it around and return to being the elite NFL quarterback we once remembered him as? Browns fans certainly hope so, because they’re stuck with him and his fully guaranteed contract for the foreseeable future.
