NFL 2023: Predicting the starting QB for all 32 teams pre-NFL Free Agency

Cleveland Browns: Deshaun Watson

Possible backup options: Kellen Mond, Taylor Heinicke, Andy Dalton, 2023 NFL Draft pick

The Cleveland Browns have made their bed with Deshaun Watson, and that’s that. They traded the world to get him. They paid him an unprecedented contract that will undoubtedly affect the quarterback market for years to come, and the early returns on all of that investment?

Not great.

Watson looked rusty, to say the least, in his return to the football field after missing all of 2021 with his ongoing off-field issues, completing just over 58 percent of his passes with seven touchdowns and five interceptions. His touchdown percentage of 4.1 percent was the lowest of his career, even in a small sample size, and his interception percentage of 2.9 percent was the worst since his rookie season in the league (2017).

The Browns are banking on Watson returning to form in 2023, no doubt. They paid a hefty price and put a lot of eggs in that basket. As of right now, it’s hard to know what the team can really do as a backup option to Watson, but they need to have something decent in place.

Kellen Mond was acquired last year and he’ll be back in the mix in some capacity, but the Browns will have to probably go out and sign someone else like Taylor Heinicke, who knows Stefanski from their paths crossing in Minnesota.

Maybe the Browns convince Andy Dalton to come to town for a year as Watson’s backup. Certainly the team could spend a mid-late pick on the position as well.

Whatever the case, the Browns need to look for a financially flexible backup option with as high of a floor as possible, and maybe take a shot on upside in the NFL Draft.