4 Burning Browns Questions Including: Should Deshaun Watson Play In The Preseason?

Plus three other important questions ahead of the Cleveland Browns first preseason game

Aug 4, 2024; Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) with quarterback Jameis Winston (5) during practice at the Browns training facility in Berea, Ohio. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports / Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Training camp has pivoted back to Berea and the Browns are less than a week out from their first preseason game. Through nearly two full weeks of practices, there has certainly been plenty to take in and now fans will have multiple opportunities to do that themselves with five open sessions still to go.

This time of year always brings plenty of questions for the team and despite only being in the early stages of camp, a lot of ground has been covered. Let's address some of the notable topics surrounding Cleveland this week.

The Browns open up their preseason slate next weekend, should Deshaun Watson play in any of the team's exhibition games?

In case anyone was wondering, amidst all the trade rumors, Jerry Jeudy is all for the #Browns acquiring Brandon Aiyuk. https://t.co/hCcKmH2QHU

— 𝚂𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚛 𝙶𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚗 (@Spencito_) August 4, 2024

If you were asking Kevin Stefanski, he'd give you some political answer about how they're still "working through the process" before they make a decision on Watson's status throughout the preseason. He'll have an official answer on Watson's status for Saturday's preseason opener against the Packers later in the week.

Normally I'd say I couldn't care less about how much a quarterback plays in the preseason. But so much of Watson's first two seasons in Cleveland has been dominated by this idea that he needs to "shake off the rust." It was a fair thought when he first arrived here from Houston but it's year three now and Watson has yet to play at a high level consistently. So long as he's cleared medically to play I think it's probably valuable for Watson to get some reps in the preseason to ensure he's as up to speed on everything by Week 1. There is some risk involved because if Watson plays because other offensive starters have to play as well. But I think it's a necessary risk for the Browns to take as they ramp up Watson for the start of the season.

Rumors continue to swirl about the Browns pursuing Brandon Aiyuk. Is any of that speculation based in reality though?

At this point there has been nothing firm shared or reported about the Browns pursuing Aiyuk. That doesn't mean they aren't though and my guess is – especially while they were dealing with Amari Cooper's contract situation this summer – that Andrew Berry has at least inquired about whether or not Aiyuk was available. Any good GM would.

Now that Cooper is in the building it certainly doesn't discourage the Browns from still trying to trade for him but at this point a deal seems unlikely. The biggest factor here too is that the 49ers don't seem to be budging much on their stance on Aiyuk, even though the two sides are reportedly not close on an extension.

The Hall of Fame game gave us the first look of the new kickoff rule in action. How much will the Browns reveal in the way that they run the play in the preseason?

I'll revert back to what Bubba Ventrone said back in the spring, the play is so new that teams will have to try some things out during the preseason. That should make the play a fun experiment for everyone over the next month, fans included. What will also be exciting is that different teams will try different things so the many interpretations of how to run the new play will be one big chess match. There may also be some idea stealing before the season starts.

All that said, we should get a sense of the players Cleveland will use on the play both as returners and the front two lines and a decent sense of what Ventrone wants to do with the play. He'll keep some stuff a secret for Week 1 though.

The city unveiled their proposal for helping fund a renovation to Cleveland Browns Stadium. Is it enough to make the Haslams consider that option for their future stadium plans?

I think the city actually put together a pretty respectable offer to the Haslams in an effort to keep the Browns downtown. $461 million in potential contributions is nothing to sneeze at and – as Mayor Bibb laid out in his press release – there is still the possibility for state and county funding to be factor in. That could bring in enough outside contributions to cover about half the cost of the renovation project. Maybe the biggest holdup with the proposal though is the extension of the lease by 30 years, which just doesn't seem realistic for that building.

Ultimately, I think the city does want to keep the Browns downtown. I also think they put their best offer out there. More than anything though this feels like a political move by city officials to get an answer from the Haslams. Their response to the offer by August 12 will provide some much needed clarity on the situation in terms of which direction the Browns owners are leaning – although that answer already seems pretty clear. Let's just say, I'm assuming they will turn this down, setting in motion the team's official move to Brook Park for a new domed stadium.