After quarterback Tom Savage was benched at halftime during the Houston Texans’ first game of the 2017 season, rookie Deshaun Watson made a name for himself. Added as a starter in the second week, Watson quickly proved his impressive college skill set translated to the professional league. In a matter of weeks, Watson was projected to be a top-five quarterback in the game. In early November, however, Watson underwent surgery after tearing his ACL in practice, leaving him off the field for the remainder of the season. When he was set to return in 2018, expectations were high, and he exceeded them. In the next three years, Watson consistently improved his game, leading the Texans to consecutive division titles in 2018 and 2019. By the end of the 2020 season, Watson was at the top of the NFL, leading the league with his passing yards and touchdown stats.

Then, in March of 2021, a Houston massage therapist accused Watson of sexual misconduct. By the end of the following month, 22 more lawsuits were filed. The NFL began an investigation, and Watson was suspended for the entirety of the 2021 season. In early 2022, Watson was cleared of criminal charges and signed a five-year, $230 million contract with the Cleveland Browns, becoming, at the time, the most guaranteed money ever given to an NFL player. Before the first matchup, however, two more women filed lawsuits, and Watson was suspended for the first 11 games of the season.

When Watson returned for his Browns debut in December, his performance was below average, and he finished the season with a passer rating of 79.1, the lowest of his career. This was an expected hiccup from the quarterback, as he had not played a season game in 700 days. When Watson returned in 2023, expected to resemble the player the franchise and fans saw in 2020, he underperformed again. While he showed improvements from the previous year, it was not what the Browns signed to see. And this was only, of course, until the shoulder injury he suffered during the sixth game of the year that ended Watson’s season.

In the Browns’ Sept. 8, 2024, season opener against the Dallas Cowboys, Watson struggled exceedingly, throwing two interceptions and a single touchdown. The following day, the 27th woman came out and sued Watson for sexual assault and battery during an alleged incident that occurred in October 2020. Now, the Browns have two more years of a $230 million contract with a player who has played 15 games in the past three seasons, has an unknown future with suspension and charges and is not displaying the talent he was signed for. The decision the Browns need to make is a challenging one, but a few things are clear.

The entire situation is a black eye for the NFL. While some argue that the league should involve itself in the problem, the Browns cannot be forced to act one way or another, primarily because Watson has not been found guilty of his accusations. It is a clear argument that the team should rather just cut their losses and let Watson go despite his guaranteed salary. Doing so would put the organization in a financial bind, as the salary cap with Watson’s ongoing contract would limit the money the Browns have to spend on other players, hamstringing them for the remaining two years. But it is fair to say that the Browns would not be worse off with those challenges than now. If Watson were performing as he did years ago, the argument of the team’s next steps would still be fair, but it would be far more complicated. Only, that top-five quarterback has not been seen on the field in years. The Browns doubling down on this mistake of signing Watson and keeping him for the remainder of his contract would be far more detrimental for the team than recognizing the error, letting Watson go and moving on through the repercussions.

This situation is not foreign to the NFL; this past June, Washington Commanders kicker Brandon McManus was accused of sexually assaulting two women. A week after the lawsuit was made public, Washington released him. Between the years 2000 and 2019, 117 NFL players were arrested for allegations of physically or sexually assaulting a woman. While the Browns’ situation is unique regarding the absurd contract combined with the lack of criminal charges against Watson, the repeated patterns in the accusations and their continuation should result in a similar response to the Commanders’. In the Browns’ case, they will just have to tackle the substantial mistake that was guaranteeing $230 million to a questionable figure. Until they decide how to handle him, we will just have to continue watching Watson defeat himself on the field before more of his actions off of it have the chance to.