Browns make their plans clear for Bucs, and it’s giving Tampa Bay even more of an advantage
The Bucs are solid favorites, but Cleveland is making their chances of winning even more likely with a stubborn decision.
The Cleveland Browns are a train wreck, and their track is leading straight to Raymond James Stadium on Sunday.
The Browns got their doors blown off by the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday 34-10. The Jaguars scored on four of five first half possessions on the way to a 24-0 halftime lead. Watson and the Cleveland offense struggled mightily, not finding the end zone until there were less than two minutes remaining in the game.
Browns head coach Todd Monken was rightfully asked about his starting quarterback on Monday to start their week of preparation for the Buccaneers. Monken confirmed that Watson will start against the Bucs.
Browns are going to start struggling Deshaun Watson again vs. the Bucs
Monken stirred the pot even further when he was asked about the players’ response to his decision to continue with Watson. His answer raised a few eyebrows.
“You’d have to ask every one of those guys,” Monken said. “You said one-hundred percent. And really, to be honest, they don’t have a choice. I mean, this isn’t a debate. I don’t ask the players ever series what play I’m going to call, what play we’re going to call on defense. Their job is to play. Our job is to put the best player on the field we think gives us the best chance to win.
“And I love our guys, but the moment we get into that in terms of who this guy should be playing, what we’re doing (with) this, what we ought to be calling, we’ve lost sight of the target, which is to own it and fix it and try like hell to get better. And that’s irrespective of who goes out there and plays. There’s decisions that are made at every position. Quarterback just happens to be one of those.
“Ultimately, I don’t blame people for having opinions, but ultimately it’s for all of us to support who we put on the field that gives us the best chance to win.”
Uh, alright then.
So, naturally, that begs the question of: what IS the roster’s reaction to Watson being the starter? Well, at least one player — safety Ronnie Hickman — had a cryptic response to being asked about Watson being back under center on Sunday.
“That’s above my pay grade,” Hickman said.
The vast majority of players will give a company line in response to that question, so that’s certainly a notable and telling response from Hickman.
In other words, it looks like a team with some internal turmoil is coming to Tampa this weekend for a matchup with a Bucs team who’s looking to back up Baker Mayfield, who the Browns dumped for Watson back in 2022. Mayfield has already said he wants to beat them and let them know he’s “found a home”, so Tampa Bay’s entire roster will have a little bit of an extra edge for their starting quarterback.
It’s a perfect storm in both directions for Tampa Bay this weekend, and it could be a memorable home opener for the Bucs as a result.
