The NFL regular season ended on Sunday night, and the Cleveland Browns have been rewarded with the number two pick in this year’s NFL Draft.
Cleveland had high expectations coming into the year after they went to the playoffs and lost in the Wild Card against the Houston Texans with backup quarterback Joe Flacco last season.
Cleveland Couldn’t Relive 2023
Flacco stepped in after starting quarterback Deshaun Watson was lost with a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 12, and the 17-year NFL Veteran started five regular season games, finishing with a 4-1 record completing 60.3% of his passes while throwing for 1,161 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions.
While Flacco did a great job leading the Browns to their third playoff appearance since 1999, there was no way he would ever return to Cleveland this past season.
Flacco turned 39 at the beginning of 2024 and would never have a legit chance to start, with Watson being cleared and ready to play Week 1.
The Browns took a different approach. They did not offer Flacco a contract and instead signed New Orleans Saints backup Jameis Winston for the same role.
Watson was supposed to come into his third year with the Browns and show why the team gave up three first-round picks, a third-rounder, and a fourth-rounder and gave him $230 million, but the same old Watson showed up.
Before Watson was lost for the season with a torn Achilles in Week 7, he only completed 63.4% of his passes for 1,148 yards, 5 touchdowns to 3 interceptions, but only reached the win column once, going 1-6.
After Watson went down, the Browns gave the job to Winston, where he pulled off two significant wins, beating division rivals the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers; however, his 12 interceptions in 12 games caused him to be benched for the final three contests of the season.
Second-year backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson and practice squad signal caller Bailey Zappe got to see the final three starts of the year, where they combined to throw 510 yards, 1 touchdown, and 5 interceptions.
The Browns are no stranger to having bad quarterback play because they have seen 40 quarterbacks start for them since they returned as an expansion team in 1999, but this is as bad as it gets.
The Browns And Karma
Cleveland made a decision three years ago to trade for Watson, who was dealing with over two dozen sexual assault lawsuits, and now it seems Karma has gotten the best of the organization.
During ESPN’s morning radio show Unsportsmanlike, host Michelle Smallmon was unafraid to criticize the Browns for the Watson trade, stating, “Karma Has Parked Itself In The Dawg Pound.”
Karma has parked itself in the Dawg Pound. @msmallmon @ChrisCanty99 | @ESPNCleveland pic.twitter.com/nQz8ZJBDQq
— UNSPORTSMANLIKE Radio (@UnSportsESPN) January 7, 2025
Karma is getting the best of the Browns right now. Ever since Watson joined the team in March of 2022, he has never finished more than seven games in a single season and has suffered two season-ending injuries. The Browns have had two losing years, with this one being the worst since they failed to win a game in 2017.
Cleveland needs to find its new franchise quarterback in this year’s draft and get over the Watson saga as quickly as possible. Otherwise, Huntington Bank Field will have a few more losing seasons until it does.
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