Who here thinks that the Cleveland Browns are making it to the playoffs this year? It’s safe to assume that they aren’t. So, what do they do? What options do they have at their disposal? Clearly, cutting Deshaun Watson won’t solve any of their problems. In fact, it will leave the franchise with a huge $92 million dent.

Looking into the Browns’ dilemma, Tom Pelissero talked about some building blocks the team can use to counter Watson’s absent productivity. The Browns haven’t made any trades and the deadline is far gone, which is unbecoming of their “analytical” character. If they did, they would probably save some money. So, why didn’t they do it?

Three hard pills to swallow for the Cleveland Browns

One of the things that the NFL insider pointed out was the fact that the Browns still have hope that they have a playoff-worthy roster. Though they traded Amari Cooper to the Bills, they have the former DPOY, Myles Garrett, and for a good reason. He’s one of the best things that happened to the team. The team finished 11-6 last year and Garrett was a huge reason behind it. So, what can the Browns do?

Pelissero offered 3 ways of dealing with Deshaun Watson, who has a 9-10 record with the franchise in his three seasons with the franchise. The NFL Insider was sure that the Browns need a QB next year and laid out a blueprint of how they can manage the remainder of his fully guaranteed 5-year $230 million contract.

“One is, just say, ‘we’re paying him anyway, let’s draft a quarterback, sign a quarterback, whatever, let Deshaun come in, it’s an open competition,” Pelissero said on the Dan Patrick Show and added that the Browns can also use him as a backup in the future. They may also wait for Watson to get back to his peak form and till then, they “let it ride.”

The next trick in Pelissero’s hat? “Pull off a Brock Osweiler-style trade.” That involves the team sending Watson to another franchise. But here’s the catch, they need to send “more assets” along with Watson to make the trade lucrative for the other party. After all, no team would want to pick up Watson’s annual $46 million base salary in the condition that he’s in. His season-ending Achilles injuries just made matters worse for him.

The third option is a bit barbarian. Any guesses? The Browns can just cut Deshaun Watson from their roster and take on a massive dead cap. Watson counts against $72.94 million in each of the next two seasons. It’s hard to fathom that anyone would come to Browns’ rescue and clean up this mess.

So, what have the Browns done till the trade deadline?

The Cleveland Browns failed to manage Deshaun Watson’s sunk cost fallacy  

Starting off, the franchise traded Amari Cooper to the Bills for a 2025 third-round pick and a 2026 seventh-round pick. He landed in Buffalo and made an immediate impact with Josh Allen. While playing with Watson, the former Browns WR led the league in dropped passes and suddenly, everything changed for him.

Then, the Browns traded their defensive end Za’Darius Smith to the Detroit Lions for a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2026 sixth-round pick. But they also shipped the seventh-rounder they got from the Bills to the Lions along with Smith. The Lions needed a pass rusher, and this was a pretty good haul for them. But the Browns trade train stopped here.

“I’m a little bit surprised that the Browns didn’t do more,” Pelissero said and pointed out that the team thinks that the only piece they need to solve this jigsaw puzzle is a QB. “It sounded like they were willing to trade just about anybody. I wasn’t surprised that they didn’t trade Myles Garrett.”

The NFL Insider also thought that players like Greg Newson and David Njoku would also end up getting traded, but that didn’t happen. Does that mean that the Cleveland Browns still have hope that they can finish this season on a good note? Or are they holding on to the light at the end of the tunnel that is the next season with a new QB who they will surround with their existing talent?

Sounds awfully like the Bears and Caleb Williams. Or the Bears and Justin Fields situation. Will the franchise ever get out of their QB quandary?