Factory Of Sadness
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3 reasons Deshuan Watson and the Cleveland Browns may struggle in 2023

By Chad Porto

Dec 11, 2022; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) takes the field before the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 11, 2022; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) takes the field before the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports /
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Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) hands off to running back Nick Chubb (24) in the first quarter of the NFL Week 14 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2022. The Bengals led 13-3 at halftime.Cleveland Browns At Cincinnati Bengals Week 14
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) hands off to running back Nick Chubb (24) in the first quarter of the NFL Week 14 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2022. The Bengals led 13-3 at halftime.Cleveland Browns At Cincinnati Bengals Week 14 /

Players who don’t fit the need of the offense

One of the biggest issues with the Cleveland Browns beyond all the Deshaun Watson chaos is the fact that Andrew Berry really hasn’t “hit” on any of his guys. He already released on Austin Hooper, John Johnson III is looking like a future cap casualty, Amari Cooper has been good but not $20 million a year good, and his draft classes are all lackluster.

The best thing you could say is that Greg Newsome and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah will have long careers. Not Pro Bowl careers, not All-NFL careers, just nice, long careers. Berry inherited a very talented team in 2020, and added a nice, if albeit over-paid and average player to it and succeeded in 2020.

Then when he really got into it in the 2021 offseason, it all started to come apart. With rising tensions with Odell Beckham, and his value never again going to be as high as it was, Berry declined to trade him. Just as Berry would decline to trade Kareem Hunt, who will likely leave the Browns in the offseason, leaving the team with nothing to show for his time here (as he has played well enough to warrant the Browns a compensatory pick).

Berry has mismanaged this roster, and while no one decision has truly been catastrophic (besides Watson), the totality of his misfires has reduced the team’s talent level and capability to perform at a high level.

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