Cleveland Browns' stance on Deshaun Watson makes their front office look foolish

The Cleveland Browns and the entire NFL world are waiting on Deshaun Watson's appeal to be decided. Will he be suspended for six games, as judge Sue Robinson ruled? Or will former New Jersey Attorney General Peter Harvey decide upon a full-year ban?

These questions hang over the Browns and their quarterback. But in the meantime, the franchise is acting like nothing is amiss. Deshaun Watson is even expected to start Friday's preseason opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

This is a season-altering decision hanging in the balance and the team is acting like nothing is wrong. Unfortunately, the front office is not doing much to quell concerns and it could lead to a wasted year.

Of course, the front office must have some sort of backup plan given the knowledge they have from the league. It is fair for fans to ask what that plan is given all the noise about a potential year-long ban for Deshaun Watson.

The Browns have already signed four quarterbacks this offseason. Besides Deshaun Waton, they also signed Jacoby Brissett, Joshua Dobbs and Josh Rosen. Are the Browns going to sign a fifth quarterback this offseason? If they are, why did they recently sign Josh Rosen?

The Browns appear to be very reactionary at the moment. Signing another quarterback would lead to further scrutiny from the NFL world, which often questions the decision-making of their front office.

Another option is to stick with Jacoby Brissett, who has been the top backup all offseason and in training camp. He is not a career starter, but has shown flashes of success with both the Indianapolis Colts and Miami Dolphins.

In a normal scenario, such a plan would not be necessary. But this is far from normal and the team signed Watson knowing his exact situation. So where does the blame fall here for how this has played out?

The Browns have only themselves to blame for their Deshaun Watson situation

Cleveland Browns Mandatory Minicamp

While Deshaun Watson's behavior was the cause of the problem, the Browns were well aware of the NFL's investigation into the quarterback. They said that they had fully investigated the situation themselves. It seems that whoever looked into te situation either wildly underestimated it or didn't have their best interests at heart.

They offered Deshaun Watson a fully-guaranteed $230 million deal. Of course he signed it, why wouldn't he? That falls on the ownership. They completely failed to read the room when it came to the quarterback.

Now there are rumors of them targeting Jimmy Garoppolo in the event of a year-long ban. Garoppolo is a better option than Brissett, but he is not at the same talent level as Watson. That plan would have been fine months ago, but the season is now less than a month away.

Garoppolo would have to learn a new system while coming off shoulder surgery. Not to mention the lack of draft capital the Browns have to offer the San Francisco 49ers in a trade.

The outlook for the 2022 season is a complete unknown for the franchise. It is unfair on the rest of the roster to potentially waste a season because of questionable management. A miserable campaign could lead to some very unhappy players. Kareem Hunt recently requested a trade, while others may be considering doing the same.

We will see what happens next in the ever-changing world of the Cleveland Browns.