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The most amazing thing about Cleveland Browns fans is our ability to ignore just about anything that has happened previously, because no matter what evidence exists to the contrary, we convince ourselves that this will be our year.
As bad as the Browns have been since their return to the NFL in 1999, we're always ready, willing and able to suspend disbelief when it comes to this franchise.
But this year feels different after the Browns decided on Monday to the always disappointing and sometimes creepy Deshaun Watson their starting quarterback. Again.
How can the Haslams and first-year coach Todd Monken justify this after all they've seen -- and not seen -- from Watson since 2022?
Just five years ago, the Browns had something going. They entered 2021 coming off a rare playoff appearance, including a 48-37 primetime dismantling of the Steelers in Pittsburgh. Expectations were high with quarterback Baker Mayfield, running back Nick Chubb, defensive end Myles Garrett and second-year head coach Kevin Stefanski -- the reigning Coach of the Year -- all returning for an encore.
Some encore, no?
The Browns collapsed to 8-9 and by the end of the 2021 season the injured Mayfield's future in Cleveland was in serious doubt. The Browns front office and coaching staff had clearly turned on the former No. 1 draft pick and the team spent the offseason courting an already beleaguered Watson.
Somehow, his decision not to play for the Houston Texans in 2021 somehow wasn't the biggest news Watson made that year. Starting in the spring of 2021 and continuing for more than a year, more than two dozen women came forward to file civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual misconduct during massage sessions.
Despite all that baggage, the Browns closed the deal on Watson after offering him a guaranteed $230 million contract to play for a team and a city he initially rejected.
The trade for Watson and his eventual signing split Browns fans. Some hailed the move, citing the willingness of Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam to make a bold move to get their long-sought franchise quarterback. Others called the Browns' pursuit and eventual signing of Watson tone deaf and a horrible look because of the sexual allegations.
Watson eventually settled 24 of those civil claims in 2022. Another was settled in late 2024 and two remaining cases were dismissed with prejudice earlier this year.
At least Watson has been everything the Browns thought they were getting -- on the field -- for that $230 million.
Oh, wait. Never mind. In addition to bringing a questionable -- at best -- reputation to Cleveland, Watson has never shown the form that made him a top-10 quarterback in the league. Watson has played in just 19 games since joining the Browns.
He missed 11 games in 2022 because of a suspension related to the sexual allegations. A season-ending shoulder injury limited him to six games again in 2023. In 2024, he played in seven games before suffering a season-ending torn Achilles' tendon. Watson tore it again during rehab in October 2024 and sat out all of 2025.
It hasn't just been the injuries. Watson has not looked like the guy who put up huge numbers for the Texans. When he was healthy enough to play, he seemed unsure of himself in the pocket and seldom threw downfield. In 19 games across three seasons with the Browns, he took 70 sacks, including an astounding 33 in just seven games in 2024.
Watson clearly is barely a shell of the player the Browns thought they were getting.
Conventional thought was that the Haslams would move on from Watson. What more do they need to see? At what point would the Browns close the books on perhaps the worst trade in professional sports history and move on without this guy?
Apparently, we haven't reached that point just yet. After two extremely poor preseason showings, Watson somehow "beat out" the younger, stronger and far more affable Shedeur Sanders for the starting job.
How does this happen after Jimmy Haslam told reporters in March 2025 that, "We took a big swing and miss with Deshaun," and two days after Watson -- clearly the least self-aware athlete in Cleveland history -- ripped fans for booing him.
Deshaun, as Bachman Turnover Overdrive sang, "ain't seen nothing yet" if the reaction to Monken's decision is any indication.
As Browns fans, we used to be able to gorge ourselves on whatever flavor of Kool-Aid the franchise chose to serve in a particular year. And we seemed to like it.
But now, perhaps, Cleveland has finally reached the end of its tolerance for this ill-flavored swill.
Reach Ed Puskas, editor of the Tribune Chronicle and The Vindicator, at epuskas@tribtoday.com or 330-841-1786.