Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski answered another question at his Wednesday press conference about Deshaun Watson being benched as the organization continues to defend their struggling quarterback, who has more than two dozen sex crimes lawsuits in the past three years completed.
A reporter asked Stefanski, “Was there even a thought or conversation about possibly locking Deshaun out this week?” And his answer was immediate and short.
“No.”
Stefanski then went straight to the next question and the press conference continued. There was no discussion, no explanation and no follow-up question.
And that’s probably because Stefanski can’t really say much to support the decision to keep starting Watson. He can’t point to statistics because they’re usually bad. He can’t point to Watson’s leadership in the locker room because there is no evidence that he has been a leader in the locker room. All Stefanski can do is give the answer (whether it was actually his decision or not) and move on as quickly as possible.
But Stefanski also answered the “to the bench or not to the bench” question on Monday, just one day after their 34-13 loss to the Commanders, in which Watson went 15 of 28 for 125 yards with one touchdown and was sacked seven times . Even after watching the game film and discussing it with the staff and general manager Andrew Berry, he said unequivocally, “we don’t change quarterbacks.”
No matter what the stats say, that’s the line Stefanski continues to follow, even as Watson continues to give the team countless reasons to bench him. No matter what the Browns do, facts remain facts. Since being traded to the Browns, Watson has played in 17 games and completed 19 total touchdown passes, both of which are fewer than the number of lawsuits he has handled (23) since coming to Cleveland.
