Browns owner guarantees nothing about futures of Deshaun Watson, others after lost season

Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam spoke with ESPN's Jeremy Fowler on Wednesday and "expressed support for coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry" with the team at 3-10 and out of the playoff race. 

Interestingly, Haslam noticeably guaranteed nothing regarding the team's future as it pertains to the individuals responsible for acquiring much-maligned quarterback Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans in March 2022. 

"We need to get through the season and we will look at everything," Haslam told Fowler.

Multiple reports said last month that Stefanski and Berry, who signed extensions this past offseason, would remain with the organization even though the Browns are one of the most disappointing teams of the ongoing campaign after coming off a playoff appearance. Meanwhile, Watson was arguably the league's worst starting quarterback of the season's first six weeks before he went down with a ruptured Achilles on Oct. 20.

Watson's 2023 season ended prematurely after he required surgery to repair an injury to his throwing shoulder. 

"We went from 11-6 and making the playoffs to 3-10, so it's a little perplexing what happened," Haslam said about the state of the organization. 

On paper, the Browns seem stuck with what's left of the fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract they gave Watson after the 2021 season. While the Denver Broncos ate the largest dead cap hit in NFL history to part ways with quarterback Russell Wilson this past March, Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports noted in October that the Browns likely won't be able to move on from Watson until after the 2025 campaign at the earliest. 

Of course, Cleveland could simply bench Watson and play somebody else through January 2026. 

"We're all disappointed," Haslam added about the 2024 Browns. "We've got a lot of work to do. We'll go back and go to work."

As much as Haslam may back both Stefanski and Berry, history shows an owner can change his mind and blow things up if his team gets embarrassed across the final few contests of a lost season. As of Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Browns as four-point underdogs for this coming Sunday's home game versus the 12-1 Kansas City Chiefs.