Through five games, the Cleveland Browns officially have the worst offense in the NFL.
Cleveland ranks 32nd in the league in total offensive yards, averaging just over 239 yards per outing after their Week 5 whipping by the Washington Commanders.
The Browns have regressed offensively this season, finishing with less than 300 offensive yards in every outing.
NFL insider Mike Florio believes the woes that Cleveland is experiencing start with their quarterback.
In an article he penned for Pro Football Talk, Florio wondered aloud when the Browns would finally pull quarterback Deshaun Watson to see if he is the reason Cleveland cannot move the football up and down the field.
“At some point, the Browns will need to make a move,” Florio said, adding “They’ll face a revolt from their fans and/or a mutiny in the locker room if they don’t.”
Florio argued that the Browns have continued playing Watson due to the amount of money he’s owed still yet on his five-year, $230-million fully guaranteed contract.
The insider called the trade Cleveland made with Houston for Watson’s services “the worst trade-and-sign of the salary cap era,” he suggested that the Browns’ return on the deal is not getting better.
“Even if they have to pay him, they don’t have to play him,” Florio said, adding, “They can bench him and treat the guaranteed pay as a sunk cost.”
Florio has been an outspoken critic of Watson this entire season, suggesting the Browns should allow backup Jameis Winston an opportunity to try his hand under center in the new-look Cleveland offense.
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