Have the Cleveland Browns management lost the locker room?

Have the Cleveland Browns given up on themselves?

The Cleveland Browns are looking at a long season. At just 2-5, and with Kareem Hunt now on the trading block, it’s safe to say this season has gone off the rails for the Browns. Kevin Stefanski and his coaching staff are under fire from the fans and media, Andrew Berry’s decision-making is coming under fire, and there isn’t a fan who really has any faith in the ownership group of Jimmy and Dee Haslam.

This whole season has been a disaster, and it’s starting to seem like the Browns are giving up not only on each other but on the coaches and even the season.

In the latest piece of news, it’s been reported by Mary Kay Cabot that there was fighting and arguing in the locker room after the loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The word “screaming” was used. When grown men are screaming over losing a game, something else is going on.

This isn’t the first nugget that seems to hint the team has given up. There was of course the public bickering between Denzel Ward and Grant Delpit, where both men put the blame on one another for the breakdown in passing against the New York Jets. This resulted in a player-only meeting heading into Week 3.

Which was a first for many who saw this happen. It’s one thing to have a player-only meeting at Week 12, but after Week 2 just ended? Nearly unheard of.

Then you have the fact that you’re getting ready to unload players. Kareem Hunt is on the trade block and I have to imagine that most of the team is worrying about who else could be traded.  Or, maybe there is a swell of players hoping to be traded, which isn’t going to help the atmosphere of the club at all.

Then we have examples of players giving up on plays. The biggest culprit is Myles Garrett. On at least two occasions against the Ravens, Garrett can be seen standing straight and standing still when a running back broke a run to the opposite side.

Some will say, “this is nitpicking” and to which they should know that every football coach, ever, has taught the value of pursuing the ball carrier. It’s a fundamental aspect of the game. You never know when you can make a play, so if you pursue a ball carrier who is away from you, your teammates may be able to force him back into you.

That can’t happen if you quit on a play.

Are the Cleveland Browns done in 2022?

I think the Cleveland Browns are all but done in 2022. If they fall to 2-6, they can still go 8-1 and finish the season 10-7. That should be good enough to stay in the conversation for the AFC North. Yet, if they even just go 7-2, that means they’ll be 9-8 and that’s not a good omen for a playoff birth.

Then keep in mind that the disgraced Deshaun Watson isn’t going to be back to his Pro Bowl form right away, and will likely struggle. Even if he doesn’t he can’t play defense, so his return really won’t be as impactful as fans think.

The Browns also aren’t a good team, as the loss to the New England Patriots proved. The Patriots are a bad offense and the Browns made them look like Super Bowl contenders. So a game against the Houston Texans isn’t going to be easy, despite their struggles.

It’s very likely the Browns end up with a sub .500 record and if that happens and the in-fighting continues, the house will likely be cleaned this offseason.