Though the Browns are 1-4 after another disastrous offensive performance in Sunday’s loss to Washington, head coach Kevin Stefanski maintains the team is sticking with Deshaun Watson as its starting quarterback.
While Watson is clearly not the only issue with Cleveland’s offense, he is a piece that could be replaced immediately. But as of now, the Browns do not plan to do that.
“Again, it kind of goes back to what I said earlier,” Stefanski said in his Monday news conference, via Jeff Schudel of The News-Herald. “I have to coach better. As offensive coaches, we have to coach better. As players, we have to play better.
“Deshaun can play better. He will play better. He’s had some, obviously, good moments. And then there’s times that we have to play better around him. But he’s committed to getting better. We’re committed as an offense to putting our guys in position to succeed.”
And is this exclusively Stefanski’s decision to stick with Watson?
“I understand the question. As you guys know, I make decisions for our football team, but I, obviously, consult with [G.M.] Andrew [Berry]. We talk about everything that goes on with our football team,” Stefanski said. “But ultimately, it’s my decision, yes.”
As for any ownership influence on the quarterback, Stefanski said he wouldn’t get into the specifics of conversations he has there.
“I think you guys know, we make great decisions together,” Stefanski said. “I, obviously, talk to Andrew about everything we do. I talk to ownership about everything we do. That’s just how we operate.”
The Browns are currently No. 30 in points scored and No. 32 in total yards. Watson has completed 60.2 percent of his passes for 852 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions while taking a league-high 26 sacks.
Jameis Winston is the club’s No. 2 quarterback. He had the team’s only third-down conversion in 13 tries on Sunday when he completed a 16-yard pass to D’Onta Foreman.
Read the full article here
