Former Jets GM claims Deshaun Watson’s career is “getting late early”

Deshaun Watson's career has seen a tome's worth of events happen. Even with that said, by looking at his age, his story in the league could only be half over. However, former Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum believes his career could be wrapping up.

On Friday's episode of "Get Up," Tannenbaum said:

[00:01:25] "I don't think [we’ll see elite Deshaun Watson again]. Since the end of the 2020 season, he's played 12 games and we're talking about a top-five defense. They just added Jerry Jeudy with Amari Cooper, David Njoku who they played better without him. It's stunning, $64 million cap charge and he has been average so his career is getting late early."

Here's a deeper look into why Watson could be nearing the end. Jerry Jeudy's new quarterback has worked his way into the expectation of earning fully guaranteed contracts to the tune of $230 million, per Spotrac.

As such, if he can't convince the Browns or another team to give him a starting job in the league at a similar salary, it could convince him to hang it up altogether.

Watson has thrown for just 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions since the end of the 2020 season. At this point, unless something changes, he is crafting a backup quarterback-worthy resume.

Deshaun Watson stumbles into opportunity to turn resume on its head

Deshaun Watson at Cleveland Browns OTA Offseason Workouts - Source: Getty

After two years of lacking results, Watson has perhaps one last chance to win over the Cleveland Browns to consider him as the long-term solution for the majority of the rest of his career. He has thrown for just roughly 1.5x touchdowns as interceptions, which isn't good enough for the vast majority of general managers, especially ones asking about Watson's salary.

However, there is a silver lining that Watson could use to craft his salvation. Last season, while his statistics didn't blow anyone away, his win-loss ratio did. Despite his throwing troubles, he managed to jump from 3-3 in his first season to 5-1 last year.

If Deshaun Watson can finish the year while keeping a similar win-loss ratio, his statistics likely won't matter. As long as he wins at that level, few teams would risk making such a massive change. As such, overnight, he could go from a quarterback on the brink to one assured a spot with the team deep into his 30s.

Of course, if Watson stumbles this year and returns to a .500 winning percentage or worse, the Browns might start thinking about their plans for his replacement as soon as this year.

If any of the above quotes are used, credit "Get Up" and H/T Sportskeeda.