The “legal tampering” period in the NFL starts Monday, so the free agent frenzy is about to begin. We are sure Browns’ GM Andrew Berry will make an impact, as the team has already freed up salary cap space by restructuring the contracts of Denzel Ward and Jedrick Wills.
However, it wouldn’t be a Browns off-season without discussing the quarterback position. We are sure the front office figured once they traded for Deshaun Watson in 2022, that discussion would be over for the next five to ten years.
But due to injury or suspension, Watson has played only 12 games since the 2020 season, which when the ’24 season begins was four years ago. And when he has played, he’s only shown some glimpses of the player he was his four years in Houston, when he put up a 104.5 passer rating.
And that’s why the back up spot is important. When you are a playoff team, like the Browns were in 2023, and they hope to be back in ’24, you can’t have your season do down the drain having an inexperienced reserve QB.
Of course, the people’s choice is Joe Flacco, who went 4-1 as a starter last season, and actually had the team’s highest passer rating for the Browns a year ago, 90.2 to Watson’s 84.3.
Better yet was Flacco’s average yards per attempt, which was 7.9 compared to Watson’s 6.5. In fact, if Flacco had qualified for the passing title, that figure would have put him at sixth in the NFL, and his 13.1 yards per completion would have placed him second behind Brock Purdy.
We would prefer Flacco as well, if only because he was here a year ago and the offense ran very well with him under center. The downside is he is a totally different quarterback than Watson, so the question would be would you need a different offensive system should something happen to the starter.
However, we continue to think while Watson is clearly the more athletic of the two QBs, if he’s open to it, we think he can learn a lot from the veteran, who guided Cleveland into the playoffs a year ago, and has been on a Super Bowl winning team.
Kevin Stefanski’s offense is predicated on running the football and using play action off of it. Flacco operated it to perfection. Watson would prefer to play from the shotgun, so he doesn’t have to turn his back on the defense.
We understand Watson has been in the NFL since 2017 and made three Pro Bowl teams with the Texans. We also are of the belief that you are never too old to learn. We would like to see Watson at least give it a try.
Watson has been vocal on his podcast about not being fully comfortable with Stefanski’s scripted plays to start each game.
In our opinion, if he were playing like he did in Houston, he would have more of a leg to stand on. But when you’ve played 12 games in the last three seasons and have had maybe a couple of games when you resembled a Pro Bowler, you ought to be more open to new ideas.
And maybe he has already discussed this with Stefanski and new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey. Having Flacco on the roster could be a valuable resource in helping him.
We also think the Browns will start talking to Watson about running less, putting himself in harm’s way only when he has to. Certainly, the investment in him and his availability over the last two years figures into that.
No doubt the first option for the Browns is to have Watson be the quarterback he was in Houston. But they have to be prepared if that doesn’t happen next season.