In the past couple of weeks, we have gotten some earnest and sober speculation on the Cleveland Browns and their future with Deshaun Watson. The Browns are five years into the Watson experience, of course, and for most of the last three or four years, the presumption was that Cleveland would duck out of Watson’s deal as soon as humanly possible. Browns fans need no reminder, but it was a five-year, $230 million guaranteed contract for a player who was coming off a disturbing string of sexual misconduct allegations and went on to serve a suspension, suffer a raft of injuries and start just 19 NFL games here coming into the year. It was enough of a surprise just that the Browns gave the starting job to Watson at all. To have him leading the Browns to a 5-2 record has forced a reshaping of how Watson is viewed, in Cleveland and outside.
And so what began as a situation in which the Browns would be giving Watson a good riddance in 2027, morphed into maybe a short-term bridge contract and morphed further this week into maybe Watson getting a market-level deal in the $55 million per year range, in Cleveland or elsewhere … if he keeps playing like this, at least.
Long Way to Go for Deshaun Watson
But leave it to ESPN’s Adam Schefter to come in with a voice of reason, for both Watson and for Browns fans. Speaking on ESPN on Thursday, Schefter weighed the question of Watson’s future and pointed out that it is way too early to assume he will be considered a market-level quarterback in four months when free agency hits.
Schefter pushed back on the notion that there will be a significant market for Watson.
He said: “I know that question keeps coming up, more and more. The more they win, the more we are going to ask it. The fact of the matter is, we are seven games into the season. We’re not 17 games into the season. There’s still 10 more games in which this organization is going to judge Deshaun Watson by. And ask yourself this, if and when he become a free agent, are teams going to be lining up to sign him? That’s hard to imagine. He has found a fit in Cleveland. He likes the Browns. The Browns like him.”
Browns QB Approach Not Likely to Change
He also pushed back on the idea that the Browns would suddenly re-commit to Watson, even if this season continues to go well. The Browns have collected draft assets aimed at securing a future quarterback. It’s hard to see that changing.
Said Schefter: “I think right now, they enjoy being and working together. And maybe it is going to stay that way, but just because Cleveland has two first-round draft picks in 2027, just because Cleveland is always looking for quarterbacks, just because Deshaun Watson is playing the way he has this season, doesn’t mean to me that all the sudden they’re gonna stop looking for a quarterback. I find that hard to believe, even as well as Deshaun Watson is playing this season.”
Browns’ Deshaun Watson Future Gets Blunt Update From ESPN