Last year, Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson suffered a shoulder injury that cost him the majority of the 2023 campaign.
During the offseason and preseason, Watson recuperated and showed he was back to full strength heading into Week 1’s contest against the Dallas Cowboys.
What Watson did not show during the preseason was his precision or timing in the team’s new offense as Cleveland chose to rest him and most other offensive starters ahead of the Browns’ matchup against the Cowboys.
And the results were anything but acceptable.
NFL analyst Warren Sharp was critical of Watson’s performance on X – the platform formerly known as Twitter – on Sunday in multiple posts.
The first post that Sharp shared on Sunday showed Watson’s stat line near halftime with a sharply worded message.
“(T)his is almost A FULL HALF OF FOOTBALL for a QB you gave a fully guaranteed $230,000,000,” Sharp captioned the photograph of Watson’s stats.
this is almost A FULL HALF OF FOOTBALL for a QB you gave a fully guaranteed $230,000,000 pic.twitter.com/XQCJNbFR5D
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 8, 2024
At the time, Watson was six of 13 passing for 33 yards and an interception.
Watson had also taken a sack for five yards when Sharp posted the screenshot, and the quarterback’s rating was an anemic 21.0.
Sharp later returned to Watson’s performance in juxtaposition to his predecessor Baker Mayfield.
“Baker Mayfield balling out in Tampa as soon as the Browns mortgaged their future with the Deshaun Watson $230,000,000 contract is fitting and hilarious,” Sharp wrote on X.
Baker Mayfield balling out in Tampa as soon as the Browns mortgaged their future with the Deshaun Watson $230,000,000 contract is fitting and hilarious
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 8, 2024
Mayfield finished the game against the Washington Commanders on Sunday by completing 24 of 30 passes for 289 yards and four touchdowns without an interception.
In contrast, Watson was 24 of 45 passing for 169 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions.
NEXT: Analyst Makes Bold Prediction For Cedric Tillman
