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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
The Browns will consider an extension for Deshaun Watson if he plays well.<\/p>\n
Deshaun Watson only has one year remaining on his contract with the Cleveland Browns<\/a> but there\u2019s a chance he could extend his stay.<\/p>\n Watson will be considered for the starting job<\/a> in what new head coach Todd Monken has dubbed an opening competition<\/a>. Shedeur Sanders<\/a> and Dillon Gabriel<\/a> \u2014 to a lesser extent \u2014 will also be in the mix.<\/p>\n Watson landed in Cleveland back in 2022 via a blockbuster trade. The Browns quickly inked him to a $230 million<\/a>, fully guaranteed contract, banking on him to be their quarterback of the future. That did not pan out in the slightest.<\/p>\n Watson has appeared in just 19 games, being sidelined by season-ending injuries<\/a> and a lengthy suspension stemming from his off-field issues. He missed all of last season recovering from a twice ruptured Achilles.<\/p>\n Next season represents his final shot to make an impact with the Browns. But if he does, it could create a very interesting question for Cleveland moving forward.<\/p>\n \u201cIf Watson returns to his Pro Bowl form and plays like he did in Houston six years ago, the Browns would consider extending him after this season,\u201d Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com said<\/a>. \u201cWhen they first acquired Watson, they hoped it would be a 10-year proposition. An extension might be a longshot, but they\u2019re not ruling it out. Of course, first he has to beat out Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel or whoever else for the starting job.\u201d<\/p>\n Browns Will Weigh \u2018Time Horizon\u2019 With Deshaun Watson<\/p>\n Browns general manager Andrew Berry addressed the idea of going with Watson as their starter and what it could mean for the team\u2019s future.<\/p>\n \u201cCertainly time horizon factors into that, but just with any veteran player, there\u2019s no rule against extending the player\u2019s contract if they perform and they do well,\u201d Berry said<\/a>. \u201cSo I wouldn\u2019t necessarily box it into any one approach. It really will be performance-based.\u201d<\/p>\n On the flip side, if Sanders wins the job and delivers, it could be a game-changer for the Browns. His fifth-round rookie contract would give Cleveland rare financial flexibility and a chance to finally pivot out of the Watson mess and build a more complete roster around a low-cost quarterback.<\/p>\n Deshaun Watson to Get \u2018Fresh Start\u2019 With Browns<\/p>\n For the first time in his tenure with the Browns, Watson will have to earn his standing with a new coaching staff. Monken has left the door open, pointing to Watson\u2019s Pro Bowl pedigree<\/a>, while owner Jimmy Haslam \u2014 who once labeled the trade for Watson a \u201cswing and miss\u201d \u2014 has also struck a more optimistic tone.<\/p>\n \u201cDeshaun has a great chance, fresh start, offensive minded coach, who has, in his past, been able to work with all kinds of different quarterbacks and make him successful,\u201d Haslam said<\/a>. \u201cSo Deshaun has a great chance to do that now. We talked to him the other day. He said he weighed less than he had in several years, was in great shape. He\u2019ll be here on April 7 when we start (the offseason program) and let\u2019s see what Deshaun can do. We\u2019re all excited.\u201d<\/p>\n The Browns are set to kick off their offseason workout program this week. That\u2019s where the quarterback situation will start to take shape.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tJ.R. DeGroote<\/a> JR DeGroote is a staff writer for Heavy.com, where he has covered the NFL, NBA, and trending sports stories since 2019. His work focuses on some of the most passionate fanbases in sports, including reporting on the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Lakers. More about J.R. DeGroote<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Browns\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty The Browns will consider an extension for Deshaun Watson if he plays well. Deshaun Watson only has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":855992,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2054],"tags":[86,85,54,2337,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-855991","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cleveland-browns","8":"tag-browns","9":"tag-cleveland","10":"tag-cleveland-browns","11":"tag-clevelandbrowns","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116354769561886428","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=855991"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855991\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/855992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=855991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=855991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=855991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}