Deshaun Watson's eventual Browns benching should end his NFL career

The Browns starting Deshaun Watson in Week 1 is a crime against football. Sure, Cleveland has a lot of money invested in Watson, and Browns owner Jimmy Haslam doesn't like to be made a fool of. Watson's actions off the field, which include dozens of sexual assault and misconduct allegations against him, is abhorrent and would be enough to get most NFL players kicked off the team. Yet, the Browns traded for and then extended Watson to the richest contract in NFL history despite those allegations. Now they are paying for it dearly.

To the credit of Browns fans who initially defended the move, they have booed the starting quarterback mercilessly each of the last two seasons, including in the preseason. The Browns opted to start Watson Week 1 (and perhaps Week 2), a decision that was made all the easier because Cleveland doesn't play at home until Week 3. If he's this bad next week, as well, Shedeur Sanders will likely start that home opener. You can book it now.

How Deshaun Watson failed his latest Browns test

Watson called out Browns fans for booing him in the preseason, saying he wasn't surprised by their character since he was also booed when he suffered a season-ending injury just last year. That...wasn't the right time to make such a comment. Frankly, there's never a right time for that comment. Still, despite better options available to him, Todd Monken opted to start Watson over Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel, two quarterbacks who outplayed Watson in training camp AND preseason games.

Thus, Watson's Week 1 failure shouldn't be all that surprising. The tank may very well be on for the Browns, a team always in search of their next franchise QB. Watson made familiar mistakes early and often against the Jaguars, and faced a 24-0 deficit through the better part of the first half.

Why Deshaun Watson's struggles are different this time

Yet, what makes this Watson performance worse than the rest is that he had everything to play for. If Watson can't show something (anything) for the Browns in perhaps his final starting opportunity, why would another organization bring him on board as a backup? Watson is not reliable, he turns the ball over and comes with a ton of baggage.

Watson threw a very similar interception in the first game of the preseason. He also doesn't have the same mobility he used to, meaning the Browns can't rely on him to escape the pocket. If the difference between Watson and Sanders is supposed to be that the former takes care of the ball...well, Deshaun just proved that theory wrong. At the very least, the Browns should pivot to Sanders or Gabriel (when healthy) so they can learn from their mistakes. Right now, they are wasting valuable reps, period.

Could Deshaun Watson's career really end when the Browns bench him?

Quarterbacks like Watson tend to get a lot of leeway in the NFL. He is a former Pro Bowler and first-round pick. By all accounts, when Deshaun was in Houston, he had all the tools to be a perennial MVP candidate, and certainly a franchise QB.

However, there is no coming back from this. Watson was exposed as a fraud both on and off the field, and he has been given far too many chances by a franchise desperate for competent QB play. Had Watson shown anything close to that, we'd still be discussing his future in Cleveland. Instead, I'm writing about his future in the NFL in general.

Watson is a distraction. No matter if he succeeds or fails, the Browns will hear about it. Why would any professional sports organization — or perhaps in the Browns case a group of people pretending to be one — want to be subject to such constant criticism? It only makes sense if Watson plays well, and he hasn't done that in years. If Watson can't make it work in Cleveland, he can't make it work anywhere.

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