A January report indicated that no less than some veteran Cleveland Browns gamers have been accomplished with quarterback Deshaun Watson after he tore his Achilles for the second time whereas rehabbing the preliminary harm he suffered this previous October.
On the most recent version of his “Terry’s Talkin'” podcast, Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Seller recommended that the Browns handing Watson a completely assured five-year, $230M contract in March 2022 “created important locker room points” and performed an element in All-Professional pass-rusher Myles Garrett going public with a commerce request following the 2024 season.
Garrett finally signed a four-year, $160M contract extension that included $123.5M assured to stick with the Browns.
“I imagine a part of Myles Garrett’s discontent was that Watson contract,” Pluto defined. “As a result of it’s not simply the cash there and that. And like, you choose this man from one other crew with all his baggage to provide him that type of money. And I’m certain if Myles was [upset]…different gamers have been considering the identical factor.”
The Browns have been broadly criticized for the Watson contract due to the quite a few allegations of sexual misconduct throughout therapeutic massage classes that hovered over him when Cleveland acquired him from the Houston Texans. He finally missed the primary 11 video games of the 2022 season whereas serving a suspension associated to these accusations after a pair of grand juries declined to indict him.
Watson’s poor play and his lack of ability to remain wholesome led to Browns proprietor Jimmy Haslam acknowledging in March that the crew “took an enormous swing and miss” by buying and selling for the 29-year-old. In whole, Watson has made simply 19 regular-season begins throughout his Browns tenure, and he was arguably the league’s worst QB this previous fall earlier than he tore his Achilles on Oct. 20.
It is broadly believed he’ll by no means play one other significant down for the group.
“The massive downside wasn’t the offense with Watson,” Pluto added. “It was Watson. I imply, I don’t care what offense you place him in. He stunk.”
Fan-favorite Joe Flacco, 2022 first-round draft choose Kenny Pickett and maybe a rookie will compete this summer time to be Cleveland’s Week 1 starter. Pluto is amongst these satisfied {that a} wholesome Watson will not be welcomed again into the Cleveland lineup at any level, even when it is clear come January 2026 that the crew’s long-term reply on the sport’s most essential place is not on the roster.