Browns bracing for 8 game suspension for Deshaun Watson

A decision is expected soon on the looming suspension for Deshaun Watson and the Cleveland Browns front office is apparently bracing for 8 games

The Cleveland Browns added Deshaun Watson in the offseason even knowing he was facing a potentially lengthy suspension from the NFL. Watson, who has settled 20 of 24 sexual misconduct cases that were brought to civil court against him, has already had his disciplinary hearing with the NFL and Judge Sue Robinson.

Originally, there were reports that the league was trying to get an indefinite suspension, which would start as a one-year ban with the ability for Watson to apply for reinstatement in 12 months. From there, rumors continued to fly about the length, but in recent days, it seems the number is dropping.

The latest reports have the suspension sitting at 2-8 games and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk says that the Cleveland front office is “quietly bracing for 8 games.”

Florio added that this wasn’t a prediction, but rather just what the team is “bracing” for. From there, he questions if they will go all-in with Jacoby Brissett as the starter for roughly half the season, or will they try and acquire someone new.

It has been reported that Cleveland could look for another quarterback should the suspension be “lengthy,” but there’s no word on whether or not they consider 8 games to fall in this category.

Right now, Josh Dobbs would be the No. 2 quarterback behind Brissett for however many games Watson is out. Dobbs has thrown just 17 career passes, so there might be some hesitancy on the part of the coaching staff to have him as their primary backup.

Of course, the first step before answering any of this is to find out what the suspension for Watson will really be. There’s still been no timetable set by Judge Robinson, so all that can be done right now, is to simply wait.