Browns' expectations for Deshaun Watson are the bare minimum, and that's a problem

At some point, the Cleveland Browns are going to have to honestly assess their massive investment in Deshaun Watson. The former disgraced franchise quarterback of the Houston Texans is about to enter year three of a five-year deal worth $46 million annually. Whether it be suspensions or injuries, Watson has played in a combined 12 games over the last three seasons, two of which for Cleveland.

With training camp underway, Browns general manager Andrew Berry addressed the latest wrinkle in the Watson situation by saying that he just wants to see him healthy and do his job every single day. That is the bare minimum for an NFL player, let alone one of the highest paid quarterbacks in NFL history. This was a playoff team a year ago, mostly because Joe Flacco kicked Father Time's behind.

Read this quote that Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk gathered from Berry's meeting with the media.

“I think it’s just seeing him every day. Seeing how he prepares, seeing how he works in practice. Seeing how he relates to his coaches. I think our biggest focus with Deshaun is just making sure that he’s available. I think the rest will take care of itself.”

The Browns are going to need Watson to be more than available to achieve all that they can this season. Keep in mind that they play in the same division as Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson, as well as in the same conference as Josh Allen, Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes. If you had to draft quarterbacks off AFC teams alone, how many names come off the board before Watson is selected?

Florio made it a point to say the Browns are on the hook to pay Watson $136 million through 2026.

Deshaun Watson needs to do more than the bare minimum this season

It may have been a string of bad luck the last two years for Watson in Cleveland, but when does everything stop being a coincidence? Watson was a terrific player during his first four seasons in the league with the Texans, but that ended four years ago. He last played for Houston in 2020 and that team was unbelievably awful. Flash forward to 2024 and they are a team that can win the Super Bowl.

For the most part, the working relationship Berry has had with Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski has transformed the Cleveland franchise into something more than respectable. I am 34, going on 35, and this is the most competent and well-run the Browns have been in my lifetime, or at the very least, since they came back into the league in 1999 as an expansion franchise. This is not a bad operation.

However, they have ended up in the news more often than not for all of their bad decisions at the helm of the quarterback position. Baker Mayfield has thrived in Tampa Bay in the wake of Watson coming over. Flacco is pushing 40 and remains one of the best backups in the game. Jacoby Brissett is starting for New England this year, almost certainly well on his way toward a future coaching career.

Berry set the bar at the bare minimum for Watson this year. Be careful what you wish for, Cleveland...