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Is Deshaun Watson Getting Benched? Is Jameis Winston Starting For The Browns This Week?

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Deshaun Watson - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Are the Cleveland Browns benching QB Deshaun Watson this week? Is Jameis Winston starting for the Browns this week instead? Read the latest NFL rumors and news.

In This Article hide
1. Should Deshaun Watson Be Benched?
2. Will Jameis Winston Play In 2024?
3. More Fantasy Football Analysis

It's been an awful start to the season for Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who has yet to throw for 200 yards in a game and has led Cleveland to a 1-4 start.

The Browns made a huge investment in Watson in 2022, but he hasn't lived up to the contract that the team gave him.

Will the Browns bench Deshaun Watson at some point this season? Will Jameis Winston start as the quarterback for the Browns in 2024?

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:

 

Should Deshaun Watson Be Benched?

In his final year with the Texans, Deshaun Watson led the NFL in passing yards and averaged 301.4 yards per game. But through 17 games over three seasons as the starting quarterback in Cleveland, Watson is averaging just 180.5 yards per game, including a career-low 170.4 per game this season.

Cleveland has a talented roster, but the struggles of Watson at quarterback have really held this roster back. The team is a disappointing 1-4 and looks like the Browns of old. This franchise really might be cursed.

The Browns have Jameis Winston as the team's backup quarterback and a move to Winston could certainly give the team a boost, but how likely is that?

 

Will Jameis Winston Play In 2024?

Winston has had a strange career path. In 2019, he led the NFL in passing yards with 5,109, but he hasn't started more than seven games in a season since. He left Tampa to be the backup in New Orleans, where he had some spot starts for four years and now finds himself backing Watson up in Cleveland.

Winston isn't an elite quarterback, but his arm strength could offer upside if the Browns decided to make the move.

Unfortunately, the team still seems invested in letting Watson play. With no realistic out in Watson's contract until after the 2026 season, the team is motivated to play him and just hope that he can figure things out.

At some point, Kevin Stefanski might be able to bench Watson, but it's likely going to be awhile before we theoretically see Winston at quarterback, and if Watson can string together a couple of good games at some point it would probably be enough for him to keep the job.



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