NFL analyst claims to know the real reason behind Browns’ failure to bench Deshaun Watson

Deshaun Watson entered the 2024 season with the opportunity to get analysts and fans back on his side. However, seemingly more than ever, analysts are pushing for the Cleveland Browns to pull the plug on him, at least in the short term.

However, the Browns have resisted thus far and NFL analyst Chris Simms believes he knows why. On Monday's episode of "Pro Football Talk," Simms said the team's reason for keeping Watson in the driver's seat is purely emotional.

"[0:18] Their offense stinks," Simms said. "He doesn't see the field that well. He doesn't throw the ball that well. He doesn't look as fast. He makes no plays off-schedule. He watches the rush a lot. He misses throws like this. He turns the ball over."

"The ownership and the front office are going to double down because they made a mistake. So they're going to go, we want to make sure we screw everybody in Cleveland over because we made the mistake. And that's what it looks like right now."

Per Simms, Watson still has command of the team's offense because by benching him, the Browns would be admitting they made a big mistake in giving up on Baker Mayfield.

Past alternatives to Deshaun Watson continue to succeed outside of Cleveland

Deshaun Watson at Browns at Raiders - Source: Getty

The Browns have had multiple opportunities to make the switch at QB throughout the Deshaun Watson experiment. The first one was to decline the era altogether by keeping Baker Mayfield around.

After some struggles in finding a team that fits him, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB now sits in third place in passing touchdowns after taking the team to the playoffs last season. Meanwhile, Joe Flacco, who backed up Watson last season, has five passing touchdowns and zero interceptions with the Indianapolis Colts.

Watson has five passing TDs and three interceptions and trails Flacco in TD/INT ratio. Of course, there is one big reason to hope for a resurgence of the Browns.

Running back Nick Chubb, who helped catapult Watson to a 5-1 run last season, is expected to be back in the fold soon. That said, even if Chubb helps out Watson, the team's offensive start to the campaign has proven to most that the $230 million QB can't make up the difference on his own.

Will the Browns be able to hold out long enough to see Deshaun Watson and Chubb share the offense once again?