The Cleveland Browns are looking to stave off an 0-2 start on Sunday as they take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are also looking to avoid starting 0-2. Former Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield will be on the opposite sideline looking to beat his old team for the first time while Cleveland QB Deshaun Watson’s career could be on the line.
One more bad start could be all it takes for the Browns to finally pull the plug on the Watson experiment. Having him face the Cleveland fans in Week 3 might be too dangerous for the long-term health of this franchise. The whole situation is a mess, and former quarterback Shaun King wishes the messaging was different heading into this season so everyone’s expectations could have been adjusted accordingly.
During a recent appearance on The Bullpen with Adam The Bull, King called out owner Jimmy Haslam for not painting a proper picture about what this season was going to be. He believes Haslam should have come out and said that this is a bridge year with 2027 being the main priority.
“He should’ve just said, listen, we’ve got a first-year head coach. We’ve got a lot of first and second-year players. We’re going to go out and try to get them experience, and I hope that in 2027 we’ve got enough experience to go make a real run at something and temper the expectations,” said King.
This belief has been simmering all offseason, and even though the team is just one game into the 2026 season, it’s looking like King’s assessment is correct. Unless Watson has a miraculous turnaround or Shedeur Sanders takes over and shows significant improvement, this is clearly looking like a bridge year until GM Andrew Berry can take another crack at finding a QB in 2027.
Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot is one of many insiders who believe Sunday could be it for Watson and that if it goes poorly, it would be best to just send him home. If this is truly a year to let the young guys develop, then it’s time to see if Sanders or Dillon Gabriel has improved ahead of the ’27 draft.
Rookies Denzel Boston and KC Concepcion had exciting debuts in Week 1. They are two of a number of exciting young talents on this roster that we all need to see more of. The hope is just that the quarterbacks don’t get in the way of the others’ development.
NEXT: Former Browns Star Is Fed Up With Deshaun Watson
