Cleveland Browns fans who were hoping for an immediate change at quarterback remain disappointed, as Todd Monken will send Deshaun Watson back out there in Week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. So thoughts now turn to the home opener in Week 3 against the Carolina Panthers.
Those fans may continue to be let down as Monken waits for Watson’s practice performance and support from his teammates to translate to success on the field. But if Watson has another terrible game, even Monken may have to give in to reality.
ESPN host Rich Eisen made his case for the Browns to start Shedeur Sanders sooner rather than later, saying he is more likely to have success with his young teammates in the way that Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo are energizing the New York Giants.
“If they go back to Cleveland, right now, they’re minus-24 in point differential. They go back to Cleveland anywhere near minus-50, [Todd Monken’s] got to think about the external because the external affects the internal of Deshaun Watson. It’s been established with his comments and, again, he’s human. But they got a bunch of young kids. You got to sit there and wonder does he go with a peer group, age peer group quarterback and see how that works and meshes. You look at Dart and Skattebo. They’re like Tango and Cash. Let’s see what Shedeur and Judkins and Fannin and Boston and Concepcion can do together. Certainly, if that’s the possibility of the future. But it won’t happen against Tampa,” Eisen said.
With Watson at quarterback for the season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Browns were never competitive in a 34-10 loss. The veteran managed just 100 passing yards in the first three quarters, and his early interception set the tone for a game that Jacksonville led 31-0.
If the Browns return to Huntington Bank Field coming off a similar result against Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers, with Watson still as the starting quarterback, the fan reaction may be impossible to overcome. The organization has to seriously consider what the effect would be on its young players, including Quinshon Judkins, Harold Fannin Jr., Denzel Boston and KC Concepcion.
As rookies and second-year players, none of them are likely to publicly question what is happening at quarterback. In fact, Monken does actually deserve some credit for keeping whatever dissension might exist out of the public eye.
But his continued support of Watson in the face of growing evidence to the contrary will catch up to both of them at some point. The only escape would be for Watson to lead an upset win on Sunday, which should buy both of them some time.
If not, things could get irreversibly worse less than a month into the new season.
NEXT: Hanford Dixon Reveals Why He Was Disappointed With Browns In Week 1
