What’s the excuse now, Deshaun Watson? 

It cannot be rust anymore, because it’s been years since you joined the Cleveland Browns after being shelved by the Houston Texans.

It cannot be the weight of all those lawsuits for sexual harassment and an NFL suspension on your mind because that came in 2022, when you finally had a chance to start earning your milestone contract with the Browns.

Watson Says He’s Same QB As Always

And it cannot be an injury, like it was last season in which you were knocked from the lineup by series of curious circumstances, all of them concerning your throwing shoulder.

So what is it now? 

Why are you, Deshaun Watson, a sub-par NFL quarterback and a shadow of the player you were in 2020 when everything looked so amazing?

“I’ll always be Deshaun Watson, regardless of whoever else says otherwise,” Watson said Sunday evening after the 33-17 loss to the Cowboys that left most of the Browns embarrassed. “…You’re going to have days like this. We all have days like this when we you’re playing this type of game. 

“That’s just part of what comes with it. It comes with the territory, and especially in my position.”

Watson Acquisition Gets More Questionable

Watson’s position was set by the Browns when they signed the quarterback to an unprecedented fully guaranteed $230 million contract in 2022. That deal means Watson cannot be cut because it would wreck Cleveland’s salary cap.

The Browns are on the hook for a $72.9 million salary cap charge on Watson each of the next two seasons.

And he cannot be traded because, well, nobody is trading for a player that has been struggling for a couple of years with that contract.

Did we mention the Browns gave up three first-round draft picks to acquire Watson before they handed him the keys to a bank vault?

So, Watson has to perform. Must perform.

A Watson Stinker Vs. Cowboys

But he isn’t performing. He completed 24 of 45 passes for only 169 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in this loss.

It was a stinker.

“Much is given, much is required,” Watson himself said, sort of quoting Scripture. “So, you know, got to add a little bit more to whatever it is. We didn’t have enough this week. And we got to make sure we have enough next week to get on the right page.”

Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said during training camp that Watson had “attacked” the rehab connected to last season’s shoulder injury.

On Sunday the Dallas defense attacked Watson. The Cowboys pressured Watson 25 times, including six sacks on 56 dropbacks, per Next Gen Stats.

Watson wilted against that pressure. He completed only 5 of 17 passes for 22 yards while throwing under pressure.

“It’s frustrating,” receiver Amari Cooper told reporters. “You always want to protect your quarterback, especially like you just mentioned, coming off a surgery. Obviously, he’s been rehabbing well but don’t want the quarterback to get hit too much.

“I think he got hit a little bit too much.”

And there it is. The excuse

Watson was sacked six times. And, obviously, a lot of that was a protection breakdown.

“We cannot let our quarterback get hit that often,” Stefanski said. “Period.” 

But some of that was Watson showing a lack of awareness.

Like the time on fourth down he rolled right and rather than throwing the ball somewhere, anywhere, because it was fourth down, he held the ball and took the sack.

Watson Missed Opportunities

There was also an issue with those hits affecting Watson. Stefanski said Watson “battled” but he seemed quite more interested in getting out of the pocket than more often hanging in there and delivering an accurate throw.

One of those occasions was when Watson vacated the pocket as Cooper cut across the middle of the field wide, wide open. Watson obviously didn’t see him.

This is not the same Watson who played for the Houston Texans and was an MVP candidate in 2020 when he threw 33 TD passes against only seven interceptions and collected 4,823 passing yards.

On Sunday that dude was not playing quarterback for the Browns. It was some other guy. Some lesser player.

Ironically, in suggesting a possible rebound to what happened Sunday, Watson recalled his Houston days.

“It’s the NFL, anything can happen,” Watson said. “I started 0-4 in 2018. We won 11 straight … Anything can happen, anything is possible.”