Should the Cleveland Browns bench quarterback Deshaun Watson?

In the Browns most recent game, Deshaun Watson committed an error on a crucial snap which ultimately led to a loss to the Giants. Now, while such mistakes can happen to anyone, the reality is that the signal caller’s mishap comes on the back of a string of circumstances that do not make for light reading.

Browns face tough choice with Deshaun Watson

At this stage, it would be fair to say that Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson is a divisive individual. Now, while much of the chatter surrounding Watson has been related to the off field controversy involving the accusations of some 25 women who allege sexual misconduct, it would be remiss to deny that Watson has not been equally troublesome to behold on the field of play. This of course is the same player who received the largest fully guaranteed contract in NFL history, after which he simply proceeded to get worse with each passing week. While it is true that Watson also suffered an injury for which he had to undergo surgery, there can be little defense when considering the timeframe, cost, and controversy involved with maintaining him on the roster.

Of course, this all subjective which is why it requires a more detailed look. To that end, we return to the previously mentioned mistake that Watson made against the Giants this past weekend. With 3:56 on the clock and behind the 0-2 Giants, the Browns were on fourth-and-1 and in need of just three feet for the first down. At that point, the Browns offense set up a play presumedly from coach Kevin Stefanski’s playbook in which four went wide with Watson in the middle alongside running back Jerome Ford.

Understandably, the Giants responded by moving to man-coverage, meaning that Watson now had an open look to the right of his line, a notion that was further accentuated by the fact that the Giants appeared to play right into the strategy once the ball was snapped. Inexplicably, Watson failed to register the run of tight end Jordan Akins who himself was running underneath a rub route from receiver Jerry Jeudy, and instead simply did nothing. As a result, Atkins who was wide open was not targeted and the Browns lost the chance to secure an easy first down.

So, the question here is: How can the Browns keep starting Watson if he’s making mistakes like that? Do keep in mind that Watson is currently on $230 million guaranteed and has two more seasons remaining on his deal. Then, there is the team itself which currently sits on a record of 1-2, meaning there is still time to improve, but not much. Up next is a trip to Sin City where Watson and Co. will take on the Las Vegas Raiders who themselves are coming from a less-than-ideal loss, and also sit on a 1-2 record. One has to believe that if he fails to perform once again, the question of whether he continues to start will gain even more traction. If it doesn’t then it may be time to ask just what’s going on in Cleveland.