Following Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken’s decision to name Deshaun Watson the starting quarterback, every level of the organization has come under fire. Especially because backup Shedeur Sanders arguably played better than Watson this preseason.
After all that Watson has done on and off the field, Jim Rome is joining the legion of fans and analysts protesting the decision.
Jim Rome Calls Out Browns’ Deshaun Watson DecisionSpeaking on his show, Rome summed up his thoughts in six words: “Bad quarterback, bad guy, bad organization.”
It’s difficult to argue against any of Rome’s claims.
Watson hasn’t been close to his prime 2020 self, when he was an MVP candidate who threw for 4,823 yards and 33 touchdowns with just seven interceptions.
Watson used to be viewed as a positive figure generally, but public opinion of him crashed when 27 women filed civil lawsuits accusing him of assault and inappropriate misconduct during massage sessions.
To reinforce Rome’s third point, Cleveland has won just 36.1% of its games over the last decade.
Hopes have yet to improve, as they went just 5-12 in 2025, finishing with a 54.0 PFN Offensive Impact Metric, ranking dead last in the NFL behind teams like the New York Jets and Las Vegas Raiders.
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Though there is a new coaching regime in place under Monken, the Browns have a long journey ahead to turn the ship around.
Rome continued, “Forget quarterback competition. This dude shouldn’t even be on that team at all right now. The owner knew this was a failed experiment a year and a half ago. The rest of us knew long before that… So believe me, I understand why Browns fans are frustrated.
“They should be. I am frustrated for Browns fans at this point. Browns fans probably wouldn’t even care if Jimmy Haslam went Art Modell and moved this team under the cover of darkness.”
Rome is right to bring up owner Jimmy Haslam.
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At the 2025 owners’ meeting, Haslam said, “We took a big swing and miss with Deshaun. We thought we had the quarterback; we didn’t, and we gave up a lot of draft picks to get him. So we’ve got to dig ourselves out of that hole.”
Now, combining Watson’s poor performance with the media stir he’s creating, it’s fair to question whether Watson should have a roster spot, let alone start.
If he doesn’t improve his play or continues speaking out against fans, it’s likely the negative swirl will continue.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.
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