Former NFL receiver: 'Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans is gone'

Deshaun Watson has been a major talking point since the Cleveland Browns mortgaged their future in a trade with the Houston Texans for the controversial quarterback. As if trading three first-round picks and a third-rounder wasn't enough, the Browns doubled down as they signed Watson to a five-year extension worth $230 million.

All this happened in 2022 and we now prepare for the 2024 season still waiting for the player Cleveland traded for to show up. If James Jones is correct, that's never going to happen.

A former NFL receiver who spent nine years in the league, Jones has since become an analyst and was discussing Watson on FS1's Speak. Jones said simply "I think the Deshaun Watson of the Houston Texans is gone."

If there was any good news for Browns fans, it was that Jones added that he believes Cleveland has a good enough roster to win with Watson. He even says he could be a solid quarterback — he's just not going to justify the massive contract, or the cost it took to land him via trade.

Can Deshaun Watson silence the critics?

It's hard to argue against Jones on this one. Watson has had some flashes of brilliance but has suited up for just 12 games in two years. For the majority of those 12 games, all we've heard is how he needs to shake the rust off.

At this point, it's not rust. Watson has shown us who he is and that's not an elite quarterback. Could that change? Absolutely. But at this point, he's a wildly inconsistent quarterback who struggles with accuracy and turnovers.

Hopefully, Watson understands where he needs to improve. There's concern there as well since his response to criticism is to say he "must be pretty damn good." Unless he realizes he hasn't been playing "pretty damn good" since joining the Browns and finds a way to improve, the critics will only get louder and gain more ammunition.

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