Is Just Winning Enough For Cleveland Browns Quarterback Deshaun Watson?

The Browns Super Bowl dreams rest solely on the the surgically repaired shoulders of star QB Deshaun Watson

Aug 17, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) walks out to the field before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images / Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

Everyone has the same stance when it comes to the 2024 Cleveland Browns. While the team may boast one of the most talented overall in all of football, but how far they go depends heavily on which version of quarterback Deshaun Watson Cleveland will get.

Four years removed from a season that ended with Watson leading the league in passing with 4,823 yards to go along with 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions, no one can definitively say whether or not that quarterback still exists. In the 12 games he's played since – all of them with Cleveland – it's been a mixed bag of results from the 28-year-old signal caller.

Making it even more difficult to evaluate Watson is the fact that every time he seemed to be turning a corner toward reclaiming that version of himself last year, he wound up injured and out of the lineup for extended stretches. That all culminated in a season ending glenoid fracture in his throwing shoulder following a dramatic Week 10 win over the Ravens.

And so that brings us to 2024, where Watson will step out onto a pressure packed stage, looking to finally prove his worth as the blockbuster trade addition he was for Browns two offseasons ago. What that looks like, however, is very much controversial.

Plenty of fans would argue that simply winning football games, no matter how good, bad or ugly, is enough for Watson to fend off a mob of torch and pitchforks. On the surface that's fair. Winning does cure all, as they say. However this situation is not that simple.

The Browns gave up three first round picks, two fourths and a third to acquire Watson's services in March of 2022. The deal was made while the team still controlled Baker Mayfield on his rookie deal, but faced a key decision regarding whether or not they felt inclined to pick up his fifth-year option.

There's no denying Mayfield had his shortcomings, which is why the Browns brass pursued Watson in the first place. The motivations behind chasing Watson have never been disputed. They wanted a clear answer to the franchise quarterback dilemma that has plagued the franchise since it returned to Cleveland in 1999. And that's why it's not as simple as "just winning" for Watson in 2024.

Everyone around Myles Garrett keeps saying he can be "even better" after winning DPOY in 2023. What does that look like? The #Browns star pass rusher shared his vision and why he thinks it can happen: https://t.co/dfr2uG98JH

— 𝚂𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚛 𝙶𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚗 (@Spencito_) September 7, 2024

Acquiring Watson was always about adding a top tier player at the most important position in the game. Back in 2020 there was no question Watson fell into that category. That's the player Cleveland thought they were acquiring. Not Baker Mayfield plus, which is essentially what Watson has been so far during his time with the Browns.

Of course there is context to that. Year one was always going to be an adjustment and then you throw in an 11-game suspension to boot. Then came the 2023 season, which was promptly derailed by the aforementioned shoulder injuries. There's room to be pragmatic when analyzing the circumstances that have led to Watson's inconsistencies to this point.

That's why year three is so important though – and the Browns know it. Why else would they bring in Ken Dorsey as offensive coordinator and help build the perfect offensive for Watson? And why else were they were aggressive in adding another weapon via trade in Jerry Jeudy? They've set him up for success. It's on him to take advantage now.

Browns offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, left, watches quarterback Deshaun Watson during minicamp, Thursday, June 13, 2024, in Berea. / Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK

That's not to say Watson has to hit certain "elite" benchmarks every week. In fact, I'm anticipating another slower start to the season for the 2017 first-round pick, as this new offense works out some kinks.

Winning, of course, matters most. But there will come a time where Watson needs to prove he can still go toe-to-toe with the best quarterbacks in this league, because that's the QB the Browns thought they traded for. And that's the QB they'll need come January.