Jared Mueller a lifelong Browns fan from Sandusky, Ohio who serves as the Producer for Dawgs By Nature and has been covering the Cleveland Browns for over a decade including at FanSided, The OBR and USA Today.
Figuring out what led the Cleveland Browns to such an utter failure in 2024 is something that fans have laid blame at a select few people for. Between QB Deshaun Watson, GM Andrew Berry and HC Kevin Stefanski, Browns fans have found one or all as the problem and many have called for major changes.
Earlier this week, owner Jimmy Haslam made it pretty clear that Berry and Stefanski were the right guys for the job but hedged on Watson's future. Watson's contract seems to lock him into the team for 2025 because all the other options are impossible or highly unlikely.
Prior to Haslam's statements, multiple national reports noted that Stefanski and Berry were safe as Cleveland's head coach has built a strong culture.
While the Browns plan is to bring in competition at the quarterback position, reportedly, we now have both national and local reports that Watson's return is all but certain next year.
First, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports shared what he has been told regarding Watson's future in Cleveland:
Sources have indicated the Browns will not release Watson in the offseason, and he likely wouldn't be able to pass a physical until late in the summer at the earliest.
Then, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com shared even more about why Watson's future is with the team that traded for him:
But the Browns are willing to allow Watson to at least compete for the job for more reasons than just the fact they're paying him a boatload of money.
The Browns believe that Watson can still play at a high level, and that the first seven games of this season were not a true reflection of his ability. Granted, he was not without plenty of blame for the 1-6 record. He missed the open man a lot, and ran himself into too many sacks.
For Browns fans looking for a significant change in 2025, all of the reporting (as well as just a general understanding of Watson's contract) seems to indicate the team will just run it back with a real competition at the quarterback spot.
Given the apathy of the fanbase already, those decisions will likely lead to fewer season tickets sold, more empty seats at Huntington Bank Field and more negativity toward anything orange and brown. If it works and Cleveland is back in the playoffs in 2025, everyone will find a way back to the Browns to cheer them on.
If the "run it back" plan fails, Berry, Stefanski and Watson will likely be in other places in 2026 and Haslam will be left to oversee a teardown to the studs and rebuild once again. A lot riding on these decisions that seem to already have been made.