{"id":80619,"date":"2024-01-15T03:08:26","date_gmt":"2024-01-15T03:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/?p=80619"},"modified":"2024-01-15T03:08:26","modified_gmt":"2024-01-15T03:08:26","slug":"browns-name-starting-qb-between-watson-flacco-heading-into-offseason-kieu-linh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/browns-name-starting-qb-between-watson-flacco-heading-into-offseason-kieu-linh\/","title":{"rendered":"Browns Name Starting QB Between Watson, Flacco Heading into Offseason"},"content":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0Cleveland Browns\u00a0looming quarterback controversy is a controversy no more, just one day following the franchise\u2019s blowout playoff loss to the\u00a0Houston Texans.<\/p>\n

\"Kevin<\/p>\n

Head coach\u00a0Kevin Stefanski\u00a0spoke with media members on Sunday, January 14, and named\u00a0Deshaun Watson\u00a0the team\u2019s starter moving forward.<\/p>\n

\u201c#Browns Kevin Stefanski on Deshaun Watson: \u2018He\u2019s doing great in his rehab. I\u2019m confident he\u2019ll be ready to roll,’\u201d\u00a0Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com posted to X. \u201cStates the obvious, that Watson is his starting QB going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe Flacco\u2019s Future with Browns Uncertain After Playoff Disaster<\/h2>\n

\"Joe<\/h2>\n
\n

Meanwhile Joe Flacco, who led the Browns to a 4-1 record down the stretch and into the playoffs, is bound for free agency in March. Stefanski also spoke about Flacco Sunday, in glowing terms, but did not indicate one way or the other as to whether the QB might be back in Cleveland next season.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cJoe was awesome for this football team,\u201d\u00a0Stefanski said, per Cabot. \u201cDid a great job. Battled like crazy. Joe is going to work through everything this offseason. Had a great meeting with Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flacco took the Browns offense to new heights in terms of pushing the ball down the field and using play action effectively during his five regular-season starts. He finished the year with 1,616 yards, 13 TDs and 8 INTs, per\u00a0Pro Football Reference.<\/p>\n

However, it was Flacco\u2019s propensity for turnovers that cost Cleveland huge as the team attempted to mount a second-half comeback against the Texans. The Browns kicked off to begin the third quarter down 10 points. The defense stood up and got the ball back quickly.<\/p>\n

Flacco took over and drove the team down the field before throwing a crucial interception that Texans cornerback\u00a0Steven Nelson\u00a0returned 82 yards for a touchdown. Then, linebacker\u00a0Christian Harris returned a second pick for a 36-yard touchdown on the Browns\u2019 ensuing drive, slamming the door on Cleveland\u2019s postseason and potentially on Flacco\u2019s tenure with the team.<\/p>\n

Deshaun Watson on Track to Return to Browns on Schedule from Shoulder Surgery<\/h2>\n

\"Deshaun<\/h2>\n

Watson did not appear to have the locker room presence or the connection to his teammates or the Browns fanbase that Flacco was able to conjure. That said, Watson\u2019s on-field success was similar to Flacco\u2019s before a shoulder injury and subsequent surgery knocked Watson out for the season in November.<\/p>\n

Watson produced a 5-1 record as a starter, throwing for\u00a01,115 yards, 7 TDs and 4 INTs. His season is somewhat difficult to gauge given the injury problems that plagued him for much of the year, even when he was playing. Stefanski addressed on Saturday the incomplete grade Watson earned in 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201c#Browns coach Kevin Stefanski on Deshaun Watson in tweaked system this season: Such a small sample size,\u201d\u00a0Scott Petrak of Browns Zone reported on X. \u201cWe all know what he\u2019s capable of. We\u2019re excited for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stefanski added that Watson is on pace to return from his shoulder surgery on the timetable the team determined two months ago.<\/p>\n

\u201c#Browns coach Kevin Stefanski says Deshaun Watson on schedule, if not ahead of schedule, in rehab from surgery to fix broken bone in shoulder,\u201d\u00a0Petrak reported.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0Cleveland Browns\u00a0looming quarterback controversy is a controversy no more, just one day following the franchise\u2019s blowout playoff loss to the\u00a0Houston Texans. Head coach\u00a0Kevin Stefanski\u00a0spoke with media members… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-80619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nfl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80619"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80619\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}