The Cleveland Browns have been searching far and wide for a long-term franchise quarterback over the last quarter century. With the 2026 team away for the summer break, here at Dawg Pound Daily we’ve decided this is the perfect time to take a stroll down memory lane in an eight-chapter series called Cleveland's Quest for a Quarterback. This is Chapter 8.
To be clear: this exercise isn’t about dunking on the Browns. It’s about getting to the bottom of the seemingly unsolvable riddle that has plagued Cleveland’s proud fan base for far too long. We’re here to answer the questions: When did the Browns flunk the test? And when did the right decision get overshadowed by the football gods’ unrelenting cruelty?
The shameless Deshaun Watson pursuit
We closed out Chapter 7 at the conclusion of the disappointing 2021 season. Browns ownership had become so entitled after just one season of playoff football in 2020 that an 8–9 follow-up became too much for Jimmy Haslam to bear. Enter: the ominous specter of Deshaun Watson.
Watson's last full season in 2020 was marvelous, at least statistically. He threw for a league-leading 4,823 yards, 33 TDs, and only seven interceptions. His 112.4 passer rating was downright preposterous. The one problem? The Houston Texans still managed to go just 4-12. Watson became disenchanted with his surroundings and requested a trade.
While a quarterback trade demand is pretty unusual in its own right, what happened next would make this situation the first of its kind in NFL history. Dozens of massage therapists came out and accused the signal-caller of impropriety during massage sessions. The legal process and the NFL's subsequent investigation would essentially sideline Watson for the entire 2021 season. All the while, interested teams volleyed the idea of trading for a player who might face a record suspension.
In other words, while Baker Mayfield was gutting through a partially torn labrum in the 2021 season, Watson was sitting at home on his couch because of his own tangled web. To the chagrin of Mayfield, the Browns' front office's wandering eyes had become allured by the idea of the ready-made franchise quarterback. Upon learning of the Browns' interest in replacing him, Mayfield burned the bridge for good.
This development turned up the temperature on their Watson pursuit. After initially being told that they were out of the running, the Browns, evidently immune to embarrassment, upped their offer to an unprecedented five-year, $230 million contract that was fully guaranteed. This offer caught Watson's attention and they "won" the sweepstakes, though few noticed that the organization's soul was also part of the contract details.
Mayfield, the quarterback responsible for guiding the Browns to their first playoff victory since 1994, was unceremoniously traded to the Carolina Panthers for a measly fifth-round pick. Thereafter came the hit pieces on Mayfield's character, his butting heads with Kevin Stefanski, and the cartoonish claim that the Cleveland Browns wanted "an adult" at the quarterback position. The Browns had officially turned heel.
The Watson era began as a dud and the Browns still haven't recovered
When all was said and done, Watson was handed an 11-game suspension to begin the 2022 season. In his place, the Browns signed the affable and omnipresent Jacoby Brissett to keep the seat warm for their shiny new toy. The season was expected to be a tough one and it was. The team was 4-7 by the time Watson returned, and despite going .500 in his six starts, there was simply something off about the vibes for the Browns.
If 2023 was supposed to be the coming-out party, a quick gander at the final record indicates that it might have been. The catch is that 2023 was one of the most outlandish seasons in Browns history. Watson only started six games as he endured injury woes that came with incessant questions about both the severity of his injury and his commitment to the team. It was eventually reported that he had fractured a bone in his throwing shoulder, knocking him out for the season.
After shuffling between P.J. Walker and Dorian Thompson-Robinson in Watson's absence, the Browns did the unthinkable and phoned former rival Joe Flacco off his couch in late November. Less than two weeks later, he was starting and blazing a folkloric playoff trail that will be remembered by fans for eternity. Flacco went 4-1 in his starts before getting rested in the team's meaningless Week 18 contest. This is notable because it added Jeff Driskel's surname to the now miles-long jersey.
Alas, the Flacco train came to a screeching halt in Houston as the Browns fell to the Texans 45-14 in the wild-card round. The jubilant playoff run ultimately did little more than mask the stink for a short period.
In 2024, Watson enjoyed (or endured, depending on how you look at it) his longest stretch of starting for the Cleveland Browns. The team went 1-6 in his starts before he suffered yet another injury, this time a torn Achilles that he would tear again a few months later while not on the job.
The disavowed Watson would give way to the similarly embattled Jameis Winston who had been enlisted as his top backup over the aforementioned Flacco. Some surmised it was because Flacco represented too much of a threat to the Browns' pricey investment. In any case, he didn't fare much better. Winston went 2-5 in his starts, eventually opening the door for some more soul-crushing Thompson-Robinson action and the ultra-rare Bailey Zappe sighting. Nothing quite worked, and the Browns, at 3-14, were back at the bottom.
The abysmal 3-14 record fans sat through still didn't represent enough punishment in the eyes of the football gods. Cleveland received the second overall pick in a draft class with just one top-tier passer in Cam Ward. They opted to trade down, acquire picks, and attack the position by committee by trading for Kenny Pickett, re-signing Joe Flacco, and nabbing a pair of rookies in Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders in the third and fifth rounds, respectively.
Watson's contract meant he was still being paid, but after the second Achilles tear, it was clear he wouldn't be playing in 2025. Pickett didn't make it to the regular season as he was traded to the Raiders following an injury to their backup quarterback, Aidan O'Connell. Flacco started the first four games, going 1-3 before being benched for the rookie Gabriel. He didn't fare much better, going 1-5 before getting hurt himself, and the people's choice, Shedeur Sanders, was handed the reins.
Sanders finished 3-4 in his final seven starts as Cleveland limped to an unbecoming 5-12 record on the year.
There is finally light at the end of the tunnel
In 2026, the Cleveland Browns are handcuffed to Deshaun Watson for one final year. To this point, Watson has pocketed roughly $184 million from the organization, providing a middling 9-10 record, 3,365 yards, 19 TDs, and 12 interceptions over four seasons in return. The entire saga has reeked to the high heavens, so much so that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam himself called the Watson trade a swing and a miss.
While the 2026 quarterback battle between Watson, Sanders, and to a lesser extent Gabriel may seem uninspiring to some, it should be viewed as refreshing through the right lens. Sanders has shown fleeting signs of promise, and regardless, 2027 will represent the franchise's first opportunity to start anew since the decision to trade for Watson was made. That fuzzy feeling in the pit of your stomach isn't indigestion. It's hope floating back to the surface.
One thing's for sure. When the Browns make their decision on their next franchise quarterback, their trauma-laden, scar-ridden fan base will welcome him with warm and open arms. Fear of being hurt again be damned, the Dawg Pound's fortunes are bound to change soon enough. It's only a matter of time.
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