The Cleveland Browns banked all their hopes on Deshaun Watson, hoping he’d be the answer to their long struggles at the QB position.
That hasn’t been the case thus far.
In three years, he has yet to even play 20 games, either because of his suspension or injuries.
And even when he’s been on the field, his play has been pretty underwhelming.
As shown by Austin Gayle on X, he currently has the third-worst EPA per dropback so far this season, ahead of only Will Levis and Bryce Young.
Bottom-six quarterbacks in EPA per dropback through Week 3 pic.twitter.com/zI9XvzwkJo
— Austin Gayle (@austingayle_) September 24, 2024
Young was already benched and Levis, another second-year player, is leading the league in turnovers.
Even two rookies, Caleb Williams and Bo Nix, have ranked better than Watson in that regard this season.
This might be Watson’s last chance to prove that he’s the guy this team needs going forward.
Even if he still has years left in his contract, the team could be hard-pressed to move on from him and go in a different direction, as they’ve given him a lot to work with and he’s left plenty to be desired.
Granted, starting off the season with a banged-up, makeshift offensive line is far from ideal, but Watson also deserves plenty of the blame for the offensive struggles.
This is a delicate and unfortunate situation, and watching Baker Mayfield develop and thrive somewhere else only makes this all the worse.
The clock is ticking, and Watson needs to pay back that big investment the team made to get him.
NEXT: Raiders Have Made QB Decision For Matchup With Browns
