At this point, it’s abundantly clear that the Deshaun Watson situation is a disaster for the Cleveland Browns.
The Browns signed the former Houston Texans quarterback to a $230 million contract after he was accused by more than two dozen women of sexual harassment and sexual assault. After serving a league suspension in 2022 and suffering an injury that shortened his 2023 season, his 2024 season has been an unmitigated disaster amid a 1-4 start.
By all accounts, the Browns would do well to cut ties with Watson. However, thanks to that guaranteed contract, that appears to be unlikely. Dan Orlovsky said the Browns find themselves in the “worst situation in pro sports,” Jason Garrett wants the Browns to bench Watson, and Terry Bradshaw apparently wants Cleveland to put him “down.”
Stephen A. Smith might have had the most pointed criticism of Watson on Monday, suggesting that he might deserve to be arrested for his bad play.
Stephen A. Smith: “Deshaun Watson is awful. It’s so awful, that if somebody wanted to arrest him for being awful, I would accept it. It’s that bad.” pic.twitter.com/MZZ07PwH6I
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 7, 2024
“Deshaun Watson is awful,” said Smith on Monday’s First Take. “It’s so awful that if somebody wanted to arrest him for being awful, I would accept it. It’s that bad.”
That made Shannon Sharpe, Dan Orlovsky, and Molly Qerim laugh, though both Orlovsky and Qerim apologized for doing so, perhaps recognizing how over-the-top that sentiment is (or perhaps recognizing how inappropriate it was given what Watson has been accused of).
Smith then went on to provide some data to back up his harsh claim.
“His QBR yesterday against the Washington Commanders was 8.5,” continued Smith. “Do you know that wasn’t even his worst QBR of the season? It was 8.3 against the Cowboys in Week One. Do y’all understand what I’m trying to tell you? You know QBR better than me…
“I mean, are you kidding me? 8.5? I didn’t know single-digit QBR really, really existed. Never paid attention to it. Never seen it. Zack Wilson had higher QBRs than that. Demarcus Russell had higher QBRs than that. I mean, you can’t make this up.”
Smith has previously said that he roots for Watson despite the many off-the-field accusations, though he did chastise him and the Browns for evading questions about them when he was introduced to the team in 2022.
