Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson has only played in 12 total games for the last two seasons. Watson was dealing with an injury last season. He was not the only player on the roster who suffered injuries. Running back Nick Chubb also had an injury and other key players.
Despite the Browns having all of these injuries, they finished with an 11-6 record a season ago. Cleveland made the playoffs in the AFC as a wild card team as the fifth seed, but they lost to the Houston Texans. If the Browns are fully healthy this season, they could be very dangerous.
Joe Flacco had to be signed off the couch last season and play for them. He won the Comeback Player of the Year Award. Flacco is now the backup quarterback to Anthony Richardson on the Indianapolis Colts. With the job the Browns did last season, head coach Kevin Stefanski won the Coach of the Year Award for the second time during his coaching tenure with the Browns.
NFL Analyst Thinks That Cleveland Browns Quarterback Deshaun Watson Will Get Benched At Some Point This Season In Favor Of Jameis Winston
Watson for now will be the starting quarterback for the Browns this season. Jameis Winston will be the backup quarterback. He was the New Orleans Saints backup quarterback a season ago to Derek Carr.
Jason Katz of Pro Football Network thinks that the Cleveland Browns at some point this fantasy football season will bench the former Clemson Tigers quarterback in favor of Jameis Winston. Katz said:
“Just one short year ago, fantasy managers were excited about the prospect of Deshaun Watson having a normal offseason and being able to return to being the elite QB1 he was in Houston.
At 29 years old, Watson should still have a few high-quality years left. However, he hasn’t exactly had a conventional career.
Watson missed all of 2021 and more than half of the 2022 season. He returned to start six games and looked awful, which is to be expected. A year later, injuries limited him to six games once again. When healthy, though, he still looked awful.
Watson completed just 61.4% of his passes in 2023. His 6.5 yards per attempt in each of the last two seasons were well below his career average up until that point. He only averaged 15.1 fantasy points per game.
Cleveland gave Watson a mega contract, which will afford him an extended leash. But the Browns also have a roster capable of making a playoff run. We saw it last season when they got into the playoffs with Joe Flacco under center. If Watson plays like he did last year, he’s not making it the full season as the starter. That is exactly what I think will happen.”
Watson a season ago completed 61.4% of his passes for 1,115 yards, seven touchdowns, and four interceptions. He also rushed for 142 yards on 26 carries and one touchdown, along with averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Deshaun Watson needs to get back to being himself when he was the Houston Texans.
As for Jameis Winston, he appeared in seven games last season for the New Orleans Saints. Winston completed 53.2% of his passes for 264 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. It would not be an ideal situation for the Cleveland Browns to bench Watson for Jameis Winston. The only way Winston is on the field this season is if Watson gets hurt again. The Browns have a talented receiving core of Amari Cooper, Elijah Moore, Jerry Jeudy, and David Njoku at tight end.
