JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — How much longer? How much longer will the Browns ask everyone else to pay the price for their Deshaun Watson debacle?Jimmy Haslam’s name might be on the checks, but the list of people stuck paying the bill for the worst trade in franchise history continues to grow.Watson was terrible again Sunday in the Browns’ 34-10 opening loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars because he’s been terrible for most of the last four years. Expecting that to magically transform now after two Achilles surgeries stacked on top of his already deep medical history and nearly 700 days away from the field was always naive at best and far closer to foolish for a franchise that knows a thing or six about foolish behavior.Watson is no longer a good quarterback. Hasn’t been for years. He couldn’t get to the proper pocket depth when we last saw him on the field two years ago, so it shouldn’t have been surprising that he couldn’t do it again Sunday.The interception on the opening drive was abysmal. The constant delay-of-game calls, false starts and inability to get lined up are a special level of alarming for a quarterback who entered the NFL 10 years ago. This isn’t a rookie or even a second-year guy. Watson is a decade into this league — and quickly playing his way out of it — making the same clumsy mistakes that plagued Shedeur Sanders as a late-round rookie last year.Top Plays from Browns @ JaguarsThe list of people forced to carry Watson’s burden in Cleveland is long and distinguished: Joe Flacco (the first time), Alex Van Pelt, Bill Callahan, Ken Dorsey, Kevin Stefanski and now Todd Monken.All of them were saddled or scarred (sometimes both) while trying to make it work with the unworkable. Flacco couldn’t be brought back after too much success because the city actually liked him, and what would that mean for Deshaun?Van Pelt was fired as offensive coordinator coming off a playoff appearance in a season the team cycled through five different starting quarterbacks. That firing was enough for Bill Callahan to see where everything was headed, and he slipped out the door to go coach with his son in Tennessee before this thing completely derailed. Which it now has.
How much longer will Browns ask everyone to absorb cost for their Deshaun Watson debacle?
The most important thing Todd Monken can realize is this isn’t his mess. It’s not his bill to pay. Stop pretending like it is.












