NFL analyst Sam Monson raised eyebrows earlier this week when he said that the Cleveland Browns "genuinely are gonna need to bench" quarterback Deshaun Watson "at some point" if he continues to struggle during games.
For Wednesday's edition of The Athletic's "Scoop City" newsletter, Jacob Robinson and Dianna Russini asked Browns beat reporter Zac Jackson if head coach Kevin Stefanski will seriously consider sitting Watson this coming Sunday against the Raiders.
"There’s no way the Browns bench Watson for performance at any point soon," Jackson responded. "Eventually? Well, nobody knows exactly what the future holds, but it’s becoming clear that Watson is now just an average quarterback who’s still trying to find a comfort level with his head coach and play caller."
The Browns signed Watson to a fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract in March 2022 to be much more than "an average quarterback," but the stats show that the 29-year-old wasn't even average across the campaign's first three weeks. According to Pro Football Reference, Watson began Wednesday ranked 30th in the NFL among qualified players with a 22.5 adjusted QBR, 27th with a 71.4 passer rating and last with a 28.0% passing success rate for the season. He tossed three touchdown passes and two interceptions over Cleveland's first three games.
Some Browns fans are hoping Stefanski will turn to backup Jameis Winston to see if he could provide the offense with a spark similar to how Joe Flacco went 4-1 as a starter last season en route to guiding the club to a playoff berth. Jackson indicated no such move is imminent.
"The Browns are majorly stuck with Watson, with his contract and with his inconsistencies," Jackson continued. "There’s just no way out for at least 18 months unless there’s a change of circumstance, and even then, the Browns will eventually take substantial cap hits for the money they’ve pushed forward when reworking his awful contract."
As of late Wednesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Browns as one-point underdogs against a Las Vegas team that surrendered 319 passing yards and three touchdowns in the air while facing Carolina Panthers veteran signal-caller Andy Dalton on Sept. 22.
