Joe Burrow and Caleb Williams struggle, Lions beat Rams in overtime
Mackenzie Salmon of Sports Seriously “overreacts” to the biggest headlines of Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season.
Sport in Seriousness
CLEVELAND – The next time Jimmy and Dee Haslam hang out with fellow billionaires, someone should ask them what the worst buyer’s remorse they’ve ever had was.
If the answer isn’t Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson’s contract — price tag $230 million, results worth about $2.30 — then the team’s owners are truly playing a different game than everyone else.
When the Haslams acquired Watson from the Houston Texans, they overlooked the dozens of allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior that had been made against him. They guaranteed him a contract after years of being on the verge of despair, even as the initial success of Baker Mayfield, the No. 1 pick in 2018, faltered. Instead, Watson played rarely and was uninspiring when he was on the field, especially Sunday in the 33-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys to start the 2024 NFL season.
A few hours earlier, opposing quarterback Dak Prescott had become the highest-paid man in NFL history with an annual salary of $60 million for the next four years; he also had the highest guaranteed salary, surpassing Watson by $1 million.
Cleveland managed the first-down marker once in the first half, and the Browns were booed as they headed to the locker room at halftime trailing 20-3. Watson completed 7 of 15 passes for 36 yards. He finished the game with a 3.8 yards per attempt average and did not complete a pass more than 6 yards behind the line of scrimmage in the first half.
With both tackles – Jack Conklin and Jedrick Wills Jr. – inactive, Watson and the Browns knew it could be a long day against a Dallas defense that is one of the most talented units in the league. Watson took six sacks, was hit 17 times and spent the late afternoon running for his life.
The Browns’ offense looked uncoordinated throughout. Cleveland called its first timeout when head coach Kevin Stefanski attempted a field goal less than six minutes into the game. The Browns later called a timeout two minutes and 37 seconds into the third quarter.
In stoppage time, Watson nearly threw a long pass to Amari Cooper for a touchdown. It was an example of how the game went for Watson – he waited to be taken down by an onrushing Cowboys defender and hoped he would be rewarded with a throw.
“We’re not the type of guys that make excuses,” Watson said. “Some people say that contributed to a lot of things – my injury, the time I missed. But at the end of the day, once you’re on the field, you’ve got to perform. You’ve got to perform. We didn’t do that overall. And yes, it showed.”
Watson finished the day with 24 of 45 passes, 169 passing yards, one touchdown and two interceptions — one of which was certainly not his fault, as receiver Elijah Moore should have caught the ball that went through his hands. He carried the ball five times for 39 rushing yards. Several of his long passes just weren’t anywhere near a Browns receiver.
It was Watson’s 13th game at quarterback for the Browns in his third season with the team. He served an 11-game suspension following the NFL’s investigation into sexual harassment allegations in 2022, and that came after sitting out the 2021 season due to feuds with the Texans. Injuries cost him two-thirds of last season, and the Browns were the AFC’s top-seeded wild-card spot without him (though they went 5-1 in games Watson started).
In his final season with the Texans, he averaged 8.9 yards per attempt and threw for 4,823 yards. He finished both shortened seasons in Cleveland with 6.5 yards per attempt.
According to Over The Cap, the salary cap hit for Cleveland to move Watson out after this season is over $172 million, which would be more than two-thirds of this year’s $255 million allocated to each team. The Browns are effectively locked into him, facing $72.9 million in salary cap space over the next two seasons. Watching Mayfield complete 24 of 30 passes for 289 passing yards and four touchdowns for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers only made Sunday more painful for Browns fans who hope this year will be different and they can build on the successes of 2023.
A Week 10 road win against the Baltimore Ravens last season gave Watson his first win with Cleveland. The good feelings didn’t last long, however. That day he suffered a season-ending injury and the Joe Flacco Experience began.
During the offseason, Watson completed a throwing program and used his shoulder sporadically while it healed.
“The shoulder helped me all game, so that was positive,” Watson said.
The problem for the Haslams, the Browns and their fans is that a healthy Watson would not have been beneficial to them.
