Cleveland’s quarterback situation has been discussed from nearly every possible angle over the past two weeks, from national predictions to an in-game benching. One respected former player pushed back on all of that noise and made the case for why sticking with Deshaun Watson is the correct call regardless of outside feelings toward him. Steve Smith broke down his reasoning during an appearance on ESPN.
Smith explained why he believes Monken made the right decision by continuing to start Watson over Shedeur Sanders.
“The situation in Cleveland is kind of what happened to a team that hasn’t figured it out. For me, I’m looking at Deshaun Watson purely as a football player. There are some people who look at him personally and don’t like him. But you gotta throw that out the window because we’re talking about him as a football player. As a football player, you cannot start a younger player, especially as a veteran. You can’t start a younger player and lose the locker room and come back to that veteran player. The fastest way you lose your locker room is not playing the better player. You’ve got to look out for Cleveland; this is the best thing for him. Todd Monken is looking at him with a fresh pair of eyes,” Smith said.
Smith’s argument centers on a locker room dynamic that rarely gets discussed publicly but plays an important role. Benching an established veteran in favor of an unproven rookie, only to reverse course later if the rookie struggles, creates the kind of instability that experienced players around the league tend to resent.
Watson completed 80 percent of his passes for 238 yards and 2 touchdowns in the comeback win over Tampa Bay, a much improved performance from his Week 1 struggles.
None of this settles the long term quarterback question in Cleveland, and Sanders remains part of the conversation regardless of how this stretch plays out. But hearing a respected former player defend the decision on pure football logic gives Monken’s approach some outside validation heading into a home opener against Carolina that will test whether Sunday’s performance was the start of something sustainable.
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