Deshaun Watson is having the worst season in Browns history, which says a lot

The Cleveland Browns suffered their second loss of the season against the New York Giants in Week 2. The 21-15 loss stirred plenty of panic in Cleveland, especially due to the performance of the team's franchise quarterback.

When the Browns mortgaged their future in a trade for Deshaun Watson, they expected he would become the team’s franchise quarterback for years to come. Instead, the controversial quarterback has struggled. Since joining the team, Watson has posted an 8-4 record in just 12 starts with the Browns. He's completed 58.8 percent of his passes for 2,217 yards, 14 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. 

The hope was that Watson would be able to improve this season and return to being the great quarterback he was during his time with the Houston Texans. Unfortunately, that seems unlikely to happen.

Deshaun Watson is on pace to be the worst Browns QB per EPA

Watson's EPA per dropback through three games is the worst for any Browns quarterback to start a season since at least 2000, according to Austin Gayle of The Ringer.

That's quite a feat, considering Cleveland has gone through a carousel of quarterbacks during that span. Brian Hoyer tops the list for his performance in 2014. That season, Hoyer completed 61-of-95 attempts for 716 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. It was a clean performance, but the Browns only managed to win one of those three games.

As for Watson, he has completed 67-of-116 pass attempts for 551 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Those numbers, which average out to 183.6 passing yards per game, won't lead Cleveland to many victories.

Watson's QBR of 23.2 is second-worst among all qualifying quarterbacks this season, according to ESPN's Seth Walder. Only Bryce Young has been worse.

The only reason the Browns haven't already given up on Watson is because they signed him to an unprecedented five-year, $230 million deal, which was the first fully-guaranteed contract in NFL history. Unless those guarantees are voided by his off-field troubles, the Browns will be stuck with Watson for a bit longer than they'd prefer.

Watson is far from the team's only concern. All-Pro guard Wyatt Teller could be placed on the injured reserve list after suffering a Grade 2 MCL sprain. He'll be sidelined alongside right tackle Jack Conklin, who was ruled out before the Week 3 game. Browns' offensive linemen Hakeem Adeniji and Luke Wupler are also on injured reserve. The Browns have allowed 16 sacks through the first three games, and injuries will make it more difficult for Watson to find any rhythm.

When the Browns travel to play the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 4, pass rusher Maxx Crosby will likely make life difficult for Watson. Another poor game could finally lead Watson to the bench. In his place, Jameis Winston would receive an opportunity to inject some life into the Browns offense.