After the offseason moves, what could the Cleveland Browns’ record be this season?

The Cleveland Browns know their opponents, but what could their record look like?

The Cleveland Browns already know who they’re playing in 2023, so I’m not sure why anyone cares about the schedule being released. We can already play the game that comes with the release of the yearly schedule; “What will the Cleveland Browns record be?”.

The schedule just determines what dates teams will be playing one another. Frankly, the NFL should just wait to announce the opponents that the teams play until they release the schedule, but hey, they’re going to do what they’re going to do.

So what could the Browns’ 2023 win/loss record look like? Well, frankly, I think a lot of it has to do with what we think Deshaun Watson is going to look like. His play will determine if the Browns are any good or not this year, as the offense is built to cater to him and exclusively him.

I know everyone is thinking he’ll just return to his 2020 form, but fans seem to forget that long layoffs don’t help athletes, but hinder them. Remember Le’Veon Bell? If you’re a UFC fan, you just saw what three years off did to Henry Cejudo. Watson may not return to his All-Pro form ever again. He also might. If we knew for sure which way things would go, we wouldn’t need to play the games, now would we?

What could the Cleveland Browns’ 2023 record look like after the offseason moves?

So the Browns of course have to deal with the AFC North six times, that’s two games for the Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens, and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Then they’re playing the AFC South, with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, and Indianapolis Colts. They also have the NFC West, with the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals, and the Los Angeles Rams.

Then you have the outliers teams, like the Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, and the New York Jets.

So if the Browns have Watson back to his old game form, I can see them beating the Steelers twice, and taking one from each of the Bengals and Ravens. The Steelers don’t have the offense to hang with a Browns team with a fully engaged and effective Watson. The Bengals and Ravens do.

That’s 4-2. They could probably take another three from the AFC South, with only the Jaguars being their lone loss. That’s 7-3.

The NFC West will be tougher, I think they’ll split it, taking wins over the Rams and Seahawks, but losing to the Cardinals and 49ers. While the Cardinals suck, I just feel like they’ve got big play ability that other teams the Browns will have the odds against don’t have. The Rams and Seahawks lack that big-play ability. The 49ers may lose one game this year with how well they’re built. So that’s 9-5.

The Bears are on the way up, but they shouldn’t beat the Browns yet. I don’t think the Jets are going to be any good with Aaron Rodgers, I think he’s not as good as many expect him to still be, and I think the Broncos will be a tough out with Russell Wilson returning to form.

So the best bet, the Browns go 11-6. This is assuming the Browns can outpace opposing offenses with their play.

If Watson is what he was last year, that’s a whole nother argument. If Watson falls off, the AFC North will sweep the Browns. In fact, I think the only four wins that the Browns can realistically expect with a mid-tier version of Watson are winning over the Texans, Colts, and Rams, with maybe an upset of the Seahawks as well. Though, I just don’t think the Seahawks are going to repeat their magic in 2023 with Geno Smith, so it’s likely a win either way.

Best Case Scenario: 11-6

Worst Case Scenario: 4-13