Just five games into the season, the Cleveland Browns are under fire and being forcefully urged to move on from quarterback Deshaun Watson.
After an offseason full of hope that Watson could turn his career around, things have not gone well. The Browns are just 1-4 and are looking like one of the worst teams in the NFL. Watson has not played well.
That being said, Watson is far from being the only problem in Cleveland. His offensive line has failed him, as have his wide receivers. Nick Chubb also hasn't returned to the field and the Browns haven't had any kind of consistent running game.
Despite those contributing factors, most of the blame is falling on Watson's shoulders.
To start the week, Watson has been receiving a ton of brutal media takes. Most in the media are urging the Browns to bench the struggling quarterback.
One of those analysts is none other than Nick Wright, who has revealed a potential "escape plan" for Cleveland to move off of Watson.
He has suggested that the Browns could package Watson and their own 2025 first-round pick to get rid of Watson. It's a wild plan that would double down on the pain of how bad the Watson trade has been.
The only escape hatch for the Browns: trade Deshaun Watson + their own 1st round pick to a team with a lot of cap space. @getnickwright explains: pic.twitter.com/pD0yA0oXNz
— What’s Wright? with Nick Wright (@WhatsWrightShow) October 8, 2024
Obviously, this is a move that would be unlikely for Cleveland to even consider. If they're ready to move on from Watson, they should use their first-round pick on a new quarterback.
Sitting Watson on the bench and paying him for two more years would be better than giving up an opportunity to get a new franchise quarterback with their 2025 first-round pick.
So far this season, Watson has completed 60.2 percent of his pass attempts for 852 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions. He has also picked up 131 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Those numbers are not as bad as the media is making them sound. He hasn't been good, but he hasn't been absolutely awful either.
Honestly, a lot of the criticism has been over the top. Unfortunately, this is the situation that Watson has put himself in due to the way his first two years with the Browns went.
All of that being said, it seems inevitable at this point that Cleveland will have to move on from Watson at some point. Whether that be by benching him during the season or by drafting his replacement in the offseason, the calls for a change at quarterback are not going to go away unless he starts playing like a superstar out of the blue.
In closing, it's important again to state that Wright's plan is a horrible one. The Browns shouldn't even consider trading their first-round pick just to move on from Watson.
