Cleveland Browns need to bite the bullet and end the Deshaun Watson saga

Deshaun Watson was in the news yet again on Monday, but this article has nothing to do with that. The Cleveland Browns need to just eat all of that dead cap money and end the Watson saga. Yes, that doesn't seem very sensible, but in Year 3, the return on investment is not even close.

Rip the bandaid completely off and don't look back. Watson has seen the field in 13 games out of a potential 35 with Cleveland, but he missed over half the first season due to his suspension, and then injuries sidelined him much of last season. Then, on Sunday against the Cowboys, he looked absolutely putrid on the football field.

Dallas was able to get after Watson early and often, and yes, the starting tackles were out with injuries, but Watson took a beating. The Cowboys pressure was far too much for Watson to overcome, especially when the Browns continued to move backwards due to penalties.

In his season debut, Watson finished 24-45 for 169 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. He was 0-10 on passes of 15 or more yards down the field, 0-4 on passes of 20 or more yards, 3-12 when throwing under pressure for 10 yards, and 2-9 for 13 yards when facing the blitz. Dallas sacked Watson 6 times and applied the pressure all game long.

ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky called for the Browns to bench Watson in favor of Jameis Winston. At this point, that seems like the best option moving forward.

He became the first quarterback out of 1,752 to attempt 10 passes of 15 or more yards without a single completion. That is entirely too poor of play for a guy who is getting paid $234 million, fully guaranteed. That is just the latest instance of bad performances for Watson as a member of the Browns. He has thrown for 2,386 yards, 15 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and has been sacked 43 times.

On Sunday, fans who are still somehow in support of Watson, were saying that the Browns should have played Watson in the preseason. On The Pat McAfee Show, ESPN's Adam Schefter said that Cleveland wanted to play Watson in the preseason, but Watson was never fully comfortable.

If that is actually the case, then why on earth would he think he would feel comfortable in the season opener, especially against a team like Dallas who has a vicious pass rush?

This whole ordeal has been a nightmare from the get-go, even more so in hindsight after seeing what the Texans turned some of the Browns' six draft picks. Players that Houston has drafted thanks to Cleveland are starting offensive lineman Kenyon Green, wide receiver Tank Dell, and the 2023 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, Will Anderson. This is arguably the worst trade in NFL history and the Browns need to just bite the bullet, admit mistakes were made, and move on.

Enough is enough and it's time for a change in Cleveland.