4 quarterbacks Browns could have acquired instead of Deshaun Watson

The Deshaun Watson era for the Cleveland Browns has gone far worse than anticipated. Watson has started eight games for the franchise, but limited availability -- due to a suspension last year -- is the least of the concerns for Cleveland.

Watson, since his return from suspension, has ammassed a quarterback rating of 76.2 with nine touchdowns and seven interceptions. Worst of all, the Browns are 4-4 in that span.

Analysts are already fielding questions about the out for the Browns in Watson's contract -- a contract the Browns have already restructured to get around -- and why the Browns made this trade in the first place. It's being deemed a failed trade by several already.

I'm not ready to deem this trade a win or loss just yet. Watson, 28, should have several useful years left in his career. There is time to turn this around, technically speaking.

That said, looking at the field of options that were up for grabs for the Browns when and since they traded for Watson, it certainly looks like a head-scratcher for the time being. Few quarterbacks who have played eight games or more over the last two years have a worse cumulative expected points added than Watson. Here's the list of the worst 10:

10 worst quarterbacks in passing EPA, 2022 & 2023 with five games or more

Take a look at some of the options the Browns could have had and decide for yourself.

Jimmy Garoppolo

This one is a little bit of a tangled one, because Jimmy Garoppolo appeared available in a trade once Trey Lance was drafted in 2021, but remained the team's starting quarterback for some time thereafter. The cost asked by the Niners might have been prohibitive from this being a real possibility.

That said, the Browns, had they been patient, could have gotten Jimmy G in free agency this offseason. While that would have left a gap for the Browns to figure out in 2022, they were without Watson for all but six games anyway.

Here's how Garoppolo's performance has compared to Watson's in 2022 and 2023 so far: