Browns coach is sticking with QB Deshaun Watson as starter vs. Eagles

After a 34-13 defeat to the Washington Commanders, the team’s worst loss of the season, the Cleveland Browns are headed to Lincoln Financial Field to take on the Eagles, who are also in need of a win.

Ahead of Sunday’s matchup, the main storyline for the Browns surrounds quarterback Deshaun Watson’s starting job. The Browns acquired Watson in 2022 when he signed a five-year contract worth $230 million guaranteed — one of the largest contracts in NFL history.

Since arriving in Cleveland, Watson has never found his footing. He has made 17 starts and posted a 9-8 record. This season, Cleveland ranks 30th in the NFL in scoring offense at just 15.8 points per game and Watson has yet to surpass 200 passing yards in a game. He’s not performing anywhere near the level he was with the Houston Texans, when he was a three-time Pro Bowler over his first four NFL seasons. But Watson refused to play for the entire 2021 season, forced a trade, and was subsequently suspended the first 11 games of the 2022 season in the wake of nearly two dozen sexual assault allegations.

» READ MORE: Browns coach compares Saquon Barkley to an all-time great as they prepare for a still-dangerous Eagles offense

Against the Commanders, Watson completed 15 of 28 passes for 125 yards and had an 8.6 quarterback rating (out of 100) — the second time this season he has posted a single-digit QBR. For comparison, Watson’s average QBR during his first four seasons in Houston was 69.7, with a high of 83.7 in his rookie season. This season, he’s at a career-low 21.0.

Despite those numbers, when Browns coach Kevin Stefanski was asked Wednesday if there had been conversation about sitting Watson this week, he responded immediately.

“No.”

After a 1-4 start to the season, it’s not just Browns fans calling for Watson to be benched. Several in the media are questioning whether Stefanski should sit him down.

Analyst and former quarterback Chris Simms thinks it’s a no-brainer.

On ESPN’s First Take, Stephen A. Smith talked about how “awful” Watson has been this season.

“It’s so awful that if somebody wanted to arrest him for being awful, I’d accept it,” Smith said. “He looks defeated, he looks like he’s given up. You can see that his teammates don’t even believe in him anymore. His heart ain’t in it. He has been completely demoralized.”

Even Inquirer columnist Mike Sielski is wondering what the heck is happening in Cleveland, writing on Thursday that, “one of two things is going on with the Browns … and neither of them is logical or intelligent.”

“Either coach Kevin Stefanski refuses to bench the team’s $230 million albatross and well-respected man about town, Deshaun Watson. Or he’s not allowed to bench him because owner Jimmy Haslam is unfamiliar with the term sunk cost and thinks having Watson sit on the bench is more humiliating than having Watson play quarterback. Which, admittedly, is a tough call.”

When Stefanski, a Philly native who graduated from St. Joseph’s Prep and Penn, was asked about the media questioning Watson’s status as the starter, he told reporters he wasn’t focused on the outside noise.

“I talk to Deshaun every week, every day. I talk to a bunch of our players,” Stefanski said. “I think, respectfully, we have to focus on what’s going on inside of our building and not necessarily pay attention to what’s going on outside the building.”

» READ MORE: Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts had ‘great moments’ together. Can their confab save the coach’s job? | Mike Sielski

If the Browns did happen to take the advice from fans and the media, Watson would be replaced by former Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston. But Watson says he isn’t worried about that — or the outside noise.

“First off, I don’t hear it. I don’t see it,” Watson told reporters. “I’m not on any social media. So anytime that stuff comes up, the only time I first hear it is when you guys [the media] are bringing it up. It’s a new opportunity, it’s a new week. Those guys are seeing it from a different perspective. We know what we need to do internally and that’s the difference. Being able to be the best that I can be within the offense and within the team and knowing that the guys and the coaches in this locker room, knowing exactly what I’m doing with my job, and sometimes it goes our way, sometimes it doesn’t.

“For the outside people and the media, yeah, it might be loud. But for myself, I have to make sure that I’m locked in and try to do whatever I can to get all of us on the same page and play winning football.”