In three seasons with the Browns, quarterback Deshaun Watson will have started 19 total games. The question now becomes whether he’ll start any games in what would be his fourth season.
On Monday, coach Kevin Stefanski was asked whether he still believes Watson is the team’s starting quarterback.
“Yeah, obviously I believe in Deshaun,” Stefanski said, “but I also think it’s important just to acknowledge that he just had a bad injury and bad break for him and we’re feeling bad for him and know that he’ll bounce back but not getting into all those things down the road. I’m looking forward to him getting the surgery and obviously getting his body back.”
It’s not exactly an indictment of Watson’s future with the team. However, it’s not the answer that would be given if the quarterback who was lost for the season was Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, or some other short-list franchise quarterback. In Stefanski’s reluctance to comment on 2025 resides a subtle implication that things could change by then, his stated belief in Watson notwithstanding.
Stefanski also was asked whether he knows who Watson is as a quarterback at this point of his career.
“I understand the question . . . and feel badly for Deshaun with this injury,” Stefanski said. “You know, this is a tough break for him, but I know he will bounce back, but he’s been a great contributor to this football team, both in the locker room, on the practice field, on the game field, and we’ll just support him as he rehabs from that injury. . . . I do think we know what he’s about. I know what he brings to the table for this football team.”
Stefanski’s position continues to defy the observations of outsiders — and the objective numbers. Of course, the most important objective number is $92 million, the amount of fully-guaranteed compensation Watson is owed through 2026.
Again, they have to pay him. They don’t have to play him. The choices are to do both, to pay him and keep him on the roster as a backup, or to pay him and move on.
The Browns can say it’s Stefanski’s call until they’re blue in the face. But few are going to believe it.
