Executive shares if any team would want Browns' Deshaun Watson

Upset Cleveland Browns fans have now resorted to hoping a different team could be willing to take a flier on struggling quarterback Deshaun Watson, as the club seems stuck with what remains of the fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract Cleveland gave Watson in March 2022 for the foreseeable future. 

At least one unnamed executive from a different team believes the league's other 31 clubs would pass on acquiring Watson if he became available for free as soon as Monday. 

"They could cut him tomorrow and no one would pick him up," the executive said about Watson while speaking with Mike Sando of The Athletic. "I would not want that toxicity to have anything to do with my team build." 

There's currently no sign the version of Watson who earned Pro Bowl nods each season from 2018-20 while with the Houston Texans will reemerge during his Cleveland tenure. He sat out the 2021 season while hoping to be traded, missed 11 games the following campaign due to a suspension related to allegations of sexual misconduct during massage sessions and then started just six contests last season before he was shut down with a shoulder injury. 

Watson engineered zero touchdown drives as the 2024 Browns fell to 1-5 via Sunday's 20-16 loss at the Philadelphia Eagles (3-2). According to ESPN stats, the 29-year-old ended the weekend ranked last in the league among qualified players with a 21.5 adjusted QBR and tied for 25th with five passing touchdowns on the season. 

Nevertheless, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski insisted while speaking with reporters on Monday that Watson and not backup Jameis Winston "gives us the best chance to win" when Cleveland hosts the 2-4 Cincinnati Bengals this coming Sunday. 

A different executive suggested other teams won't want to help the Browns with their Watson problem, considering it's no secret owners felt that the signal-caller receiving a fully guaranteed deal could "create some problems" regarding future contract negotiations. That executive told Sando that team owners could decide they're "not bailing the Browns out of anything." 

Some are convinced Stefanski has no choice but to play Watson until the coach receives "clearance" to make what could become a franchise-altering decision. Sando's piece served as a reminder that the Browns are probably married to Watson's contract through at least the 2025 season, regardless of how much he plays over the next 15 months.