Analyst echoes alarming theory about struggles of Deshaun Watson

Former Cleveland Browns general manager and current NFL analyst Michael Lombardi recently said he felt Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson "lost his motivation" and "his pride to be great" after Watson signed a fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract in March 2022. 

Analyst Ben Solak of ESPN seemed to echo Lombardi's take for a piece published on Tuesday. 

"I have nothing to say of Watson's play," Solak wrote. "It's bad, it has been bad ever since he stepped into Cleveland, and every single contract capitulation made by the Browns for Watson has been worse than the one before. There's no schematic machination or clever personnel that's going to change the fact that Watson has no interest in playing football well right now." 

Watson made just 12 total starts for Cleveland from Week 1 of the 2022 campaign through the end of last season, and he was recovering from shoulder surgery when the club replaced offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt with Ken Dorsey because it was thought Dorsey could get the best out of the 29-year-old. Instead, Watson has been arguably the NFL's worst QB1 across the first six weeks of this season. 

According to Pro Football Reference, Watson began Tuesday ranked last in the NFL with a 21.7 adjusted QBR and a 31.3% passing success rate on the campaign. He tossed five touchdown passes and three interceptions as the Browns fell to 1-5. Meanwhile, Solak pointed out that Watson is 814th out of 815 quarterbacking seasons since 2000 with an average of 3.9 yards per dropback. 

Cleveland restructuring Watson's contract on multiple occasions has seemingly left the franchise stuck with the salary-cap hits attached to that deal through at least 2025. At least one unnamed executive from a different team reportedly believes no club would pick Watson up if he was released this fall. 

"We haven't seen a starting quarterback play this poorly in 23 years," Solak added, "and if Watson indeed finishes the season as the Browns' starter (a universe I am increasingly realizing might be forced upon us), then we will be watching one of the worst seasons of modern football."

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski insisted on Monday he feels Watson and not backup Jameis Winston "gives us the best chance to win" for this coming Sunday's home game against the 2-4 Cincinnati Bengals. As of late Tuesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed Cleveland as a 5.5-point underdog versus Cincinnati.