Browns Plan To Reevaluate Quarterback Position After Two Road Games, Per Report

Sometimes the solution becomes too obvious to ignore and per Ian Rapoport, the Cleveland Browns plan to reevaluate the quarterback position after their game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Head coach Todd Monken has been steadfast in that Deshaun Watson is the starting quarterback and he did not anticipate that it would be a week-to-week decision. But after only one start and before Watson takes the field for a second, the Browns have shifted their stance.

During training camp,reports were that Watson was not accurate and threw the ball to the defense. In his second preseason game, he came out and could not move the ball against a third-team defense. Week one of the regular season looked disoriented. Watson has not played his way to secure the starting role. So why did Watson get the starting nod if he has shown that the physical tools were diminishing after two consecutive season-ending surgeries?

Monken installed a new offense this summer and he had a bunch of first or second year players trying to learn. Watson presented a veteran presence to accurately line the offense up, read the defense, and check to the correct protection and play. Last week, Watson failed to do that by making audibles late in the play clock, taking delay of game penalties, and causing false starts. He refused to push the ball downfield when it mattered. The offense looked disjointed as a whole, frustrating both the coaching staff and the fans.

After last week’s game in Jacksonville, Monken and offensive coordinator Travis Switzer defended Watson’s play and said he was making correct reads, contradicting what the fans saw. Coaches have the right to defend their players in public, but their words fell flat after comparing them to the game film.

The Browns began their season with two games on the road. Prior to leaving, Watson was booed during the preseason in his home field. He responded to the media criticizing the fans and saying that the Browns will play “17 away games” this season due to the constant booing. After the inept performance last week, Watson again blamed the media and said that the expectations were too high and they expect him to “throw for 400 yards [and] five touchdowns every week".

After four long seasons of Watson’s signing tanking the Browns success, the fans are tired. Monken and his staff insisted that Watson gave the Browns the best chance to win. Should Watson return from Tampa Bay with another clunker, then the Browns will have to rightly reevaluate the starting quarterback decision before playing in front of the hometown crowd.

Should Watson take the field in Cleveland after an 0-2 lackluster start, then the boos will be deafening. The Browns are relying on so many young players to contribute and buy into the coaching staff’s philosophy. Monken cannot have the young players being surrounded by a toxic atmosphere in their own stadium. Owner Jimmy Haslam has to sell the fans on the team’s success by the time his new dome opens and any future quarterback that could sign with the team. Turning the fans against the team after two weeks is not the way to help in that regard.

Backup Shedeur Sanders showed slight promise last season. The Browns need to completely evaluate him prior to next year’s draft. Sanders has a positive public persona and will allow Browns’ fans to cheer and support the team. The Browns could use the first two away games to have the veteran implement the new coaching staff’s game plan and then give the reins to the second-year player in front of Browns’ fans.

Rapoport’s report confirms that the Browns are not completely out of touch. Due to the timing of the report, the Browns made Watson well aware that it is now or never for his NFL career. The fans and media have been echoing that the quarterback position needs to be reevaluated prior to the first home game and the Browns were insistent that it would not. Now the noise is too loud and the problem is too big to ignore.

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