The Browns are hoping for a big turnaround from a quarterback other than the one who won NFL Comeback Player of the Year.
Deshaun Watson’s future with the Browns is in limbo as the team wins 11 games and heads into the playoffs with four different starters, with award-winning Joe Flacco coming off a late-season couch comeback. If you ever thought it might happen, forget it. about it.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski and new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey will travel to Los Angeles next week to visit Watson as he recovers from season-ending right shoulder surgery.
“I know he’s going to start pitching here right away,” Stefanski said. “He’s hitting all the milestones. I can’t see him pitch, but I just want to check in on him. But I text him almost every day. He’s good. I am in a state.”
The Browns owe Watson $138 million over the next three years.
Watson arrived from the Texans and has thrown 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 12 games since completing his third Pro Bowl season with the Texans in 2020. Before he ruined his season due to a contract dispute, before he was traded, and before he left. He was accused of sexual misconduct by more than 20 massage therapists and was suspended for 11 games.
“We’re not necessarily thinking in terms of fulfilling the contract,” general manager Andrew Berry told Pro Football Talk. “We just hope he’s available. If he’s available, we know he can play at a high level. We like how he played before his shoulder injury. I am satisfied with that.”
Take another receiver off the free agent board.
Colts general manager Chris Ballard has indicated that Michael Pittman Jr., who rushed for 1,000 yards in two of his first four seasons in the NFL, will not be allowed to become a free agent in some way.
The 49ers are meeting with Chiefs defensive backs coach Dave Merritt regarding their defensive coordinator vacancy.
Merritt, who was a Giants assistant from 2004 to 2017, was not among the eight candidates interviewed for the defensive coordinator job earlier this offseason.
He has worked under highly regarded coordinator Steve Spagnuolo three times (twice with the Giants and now with the Chiefs).
The Chiefs will reportedly cut WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling, which will save them $12 million against the salary cap.
In the wake of speculation that QB Aaron Rodgers would scout him to the Jets, who need a receiver.
Valdes-Scantling averaged 17.5 yards per reception and 13 touchdown catches in four years with Rodgers with the Packers, but struggled with drops in two years with the Chiefs.
