The Cleveland Browns are mired in a disastrous season with a 3-11 record while once again cycling through multiple quarterbacks since the $230 million man, Deshaun Watson, can’t stay healthy or live up to the expectations that come with signing a contract that big.
Watson’s unreliability has made many wonder if he’ll be the team’s starting quarterback next season despite carrying a $72.9 million cap hit, and one analyst recently named three possibilities for the team to lock in a different starter next year.
Browns analyst Jack Duffin shared on X that he sees three routes for the Browns to get a different No. 1 QB next season instead of Watson, with a one-year deal for Kirk Cousins being the first option, along with signing Sam Darnold to a three-year deal for $120 million, and finally, retaining Jameis Winston on a one-year deal.
I see 3 routes for the #Browns to get QB1 for 2025 👀
Cousins – $1.255m/1
Knows HC, put a great roster around him then swing in 26 draftDarnold ~ $120m/3
Big move & if he doesn’t work out HC/GM probably goneWinston ~ $8m/1
Backup plan with upsidehttps://t.co/9iqo74htkr— Jack Duffin (@JackDuffin) December 21, 2024
Darnold would be the riskiest given the fact that he is just now having his breakout year and committing $120 million to him while still paying Watson so much money would hamstring the team’s flexibility to build out the rest of the roster.
The team might have no choice but to go with a one-year stopgap solution like Winston or Cousins, and both could serve as backups to Watson as well.
Even if the Browns roll with Watson again, it is clear that they also need to have a strong backup since Watson hasn’t proven he is capable of staying healthy or playing well consistently even when he is healthy.
It’s not a fun situation, but the organization has to make the best of it one way or another.
NEXT: Insider Links Veteran QB To Browns This Offseason
