For the first time in years, fans and media members alike had faith in the Cleveland Browns.
The team was fresh off a trip to the playoffs with a veteran backup quarterback, so one could only assume they would fare better with their starter back to full strength.
That wasn’t the case.
Instead, they’re sitting on a 3-10 record and well outside the playoff picture.
That’s why, when asked about his team’s performance this season, owner Jimmy Haslam had only one word to describe it: Perplexed.
The Browns’ owner sat down with ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and claimed that he would assess his team’s performance as a whole in the offseason:
“Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said he is perplexed by his team’s 3-10 record but will evaluate its performance in totality after the season — including the outlook at quarterback,” Fowler said.
Some reports stated that Haslam, not Kevin Stefanski or Andrew Berry, made the Browns’ decision to keep starting Deshaun Watson.
Most people also agree that the decision ended up dooming the team’s chances to compete during the first half of the season, thus leading to this ‘perplexing’ outcome.
The Browns are now at a crossroads with Deshaun Watson.
They likely can’t trade him, and he might not be the player they need on the field, but he’s either going to be there, or he’s going to have to be released.
That means he will cost them a lot of money, regardless of whether he plays.
Other than that, this team should be okay for the most part, and once they make a couple of tweaks, they should be back in playoff contention.
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