Some NFL insiders believe the Cleveland Browns could start someone other than Deshaun Watson in Week 1 of the 2024 season.
Aaron Schatz, ESPN NFL writer and FTN Network chief analytics officer, proposed in a post published Friday that Cleveland should have a signal-caller compete with Watson for the club’s QB1 position this summer.
Schatz claimed that Jacoby Brissett had a 62.0 QBR with Cleveland in 2022 (11 starts, 16 appearances), while veteran Joe Flacco concluded the regular season with a 48.3 QBR (five starts, five appearances). Watson has a 40.4 QBR in 2022 and a 42.9 QBR this season (six starts and six appearances in each year).
“They can go one of two ways with this,” Schatz said of his proposal. “Use a second- or third-round pick on a young quarterback and let that player compete with Watson in camp, or bring back one of the veteran quarterbacks they’ve already had success with.”
Flacco recently stated that he would welcome a return to Cleveland this offseason, but there is little reason to believe either he or Brissett would be anything more than a QB2 with the Browns during training camp as long as Watson is healthy.
The Browns could technically trade Watson despite the fact that he signed a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract in March 2022, but general manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski appear to be committed to starting the 28-year-old until further notice. According to reports, the Browns replaced offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt with Ken Dorsey this winter in part because Stefanski and company feel Dorsey can help Watson fulfill his potential after working with dual-threat quarterbacks Cam Newton and Josh Allen in the past.
Berry’s decision to bring back either Flacco or Brissett as Watson insurance makes perfect sense, given that the three-time Pro Bowl selection is coming off a season-ending shoulder injury. With that stated, the Browns, a win-now team with a young starting quarterback, should not invest a second-round draft pick on a backup quarterback.
Cleveland will also not trade for Justin Fields of the Chicago Bears this spring.
Watson may lose his job in the autumn due to an injury or poor performance, but he’ll just compete against himself and prepare defenses during summer workouts.
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Eric Metcalf Details the Browns’ Biggest Need in the Offseason
Every NFL team enters the offseason hoping to sign free players who can immediately improve their team. While there are a lot of young players in the draft, senior free agents have a lot of potential, especially for stars looking for bigger contracts.
The Cleveland Browns boasted one of the toughest defenses in the 2023 season, thanks primarily to DPOTY Myles Garrett. Garrett has 14 sacks and 4 forced fumbles during the season. Eric Metcalf of Dawg Check says that while he was a force, he needs some help with the pass rush.
“I do [believe the Browns need an edge rusher], because you’re talking about Miles, and he was Defensive Player of the Year, but his sacks were lower than other guys who could have won this award. So if you don’t have that other guy, it might be even higher because you’re able to double team him more and let running backs and tight ends chip on him more.
Metcalf is referring to the numerous double teams Garrett faced while chasing down opposition quarterbacks. Garrett won the DPOY award despite only having 14 sacks. Despite being subjected to double teams throughout the season, he still managed to accumulate that many sacks.
Garrett can be so dominant. However, he will be unable to maneuver and avoid such double teams unless the Browns locate another edge rusher who can assist Garrett in getting to his target.
Metcalf is correct. If the Browns had an edge rusher with 8-10 sacks, their pass rush would be much more powerful. The difficulty is that the team ranks at the bottom in terms of available cap space.
The Browns are currently losing $20 million, but a few roster adjustments could lead them to sign a free agent who can improve Garrett and the entire defense.
