The 3-13 Cleveland Browns are one loss away from locking up a top-3 draft pick in the 2025 draft, which isn’t the outcome most fans had heading into this season.
Some might even say that the Browns are tanking now that they are starting Bailey Zappe at quarterback instead of Jameis Winston.
One insider recently agreed and ripped the team in his new article.
ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio detailed how the Browns are tanking in his recent article and mentioned that Winston would be starting if the goal were to win before going into more detail about the bigger picture.
“But the Browns seemingly don’t want to win. Not in the usual way. For them, losing now leads to winning later, with better and cheaper ingredients for two more years of chicken salad, thanks to the worst trade-and-sign in NFL history,” Florio said.
The Browns seem to be tanking, again. https://t.co/he2yMLv1uu
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) January 3, 2025
Calling the Deshaun Watson move the “worst trade-and-sign in NFL history” is strong, but at this point, he might be right, considering how little the Browns have gotten in return on that investment.
Watson still hasn’t had a 300-yard game, and in consecutive years, the offense picked up considerably once Joe Flacco and Jameis Winston took over under center.
His cap hit makes it impossible to move him, so Watson will remain on this roster regardless of what happens next year.
Therefore, the team will have to decide whether the 2025 draft or free agency period makes sense as an avenue to find a new quarterback.
NEXT: Bruce Drennan Has A Strong Belief About Repercussions Of Deshaun Watson Trade
