Cowboys defense expose who has the NFL’s worst contract: Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson

Dallas Cowboys fans may be upset that their team made Dak Prescott the highest paid player in NFL history, and there are scores of fans elsewhere irate over the state of their team’s quarterback, but Deshaun Watson and his Cleveland Browns have everyone “beat.”

A few hours after the Cowboys handed Prescott his four-year, $260 million extension, their defense showed who wears the “goldest” of gold jackets for Terrible NFL Contracts.

Watching former Houston Texans star quarterback Deshaun Watson kicked and knocked around by the Cowboys defense on Sunday in their 33-17 win in Cleveland was at times awkward. At times it was uncomfortable.

At times this played out like some kind of National Geographic film of a helpless animal caught in the wild.

The Deshaun Watson story, once one of the most inspiring in the NFL since he came into the league from Clemson, is now sad.

With edge rusher/sumo wrestler Micah Parsons looking like a man who has not played football in months, because he hasn’t, the Cowboys’ front seven harassed Watson all afternoon. Linebacker DeMarvion Overshown played like a man who can chase down speeding cars, and linebacker Eric Kendricks showed he has something, if he’s healthy.

To start the fourth quarter of what was a blowout game, Watson was 16-of-31 passing for 119 yards with one touchdown, one interception and he had been sacked five times. With just under 10 minutes remaining in the game, he threw his second interception of the afternoon.

The few fans that had not already left early then gathered their belongings and headed to their cars.

There should have at least been four more sacks, and one more interception, on Watson’s final stat sheet.

In the first game of this defense under “new” defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, the Cowboys defense made Watson’s life miserable. Also, Watson played awful, too.

“I felt like we could have done more to anybody else; Deshaun is tough,” Parsons said. “He’s a tough quarterback. He’s hard to get down. He’s scrappy. He’s relentless. He kept getting up.

“Because of their tackle depth it was challenging for them to dial into their offense. They have to get healthy; they’re missing their running back and two tackles. He’ll continue to get better and show why he got paid, too.”

Parsons’ point about the Browns offensive line is valid, but some of this sounds like a friend of Watson who is sticking up for his guy.

The Browns had one first down in the first half.

Watson might have played awful because maybe because he’s finished, and the Browns can’t do anything about it.

You may not be happy about Dak’s contract, but at least it’s not Watson’s.

In March of 2022, the Texans traded Watson to Cleveland for the Browns’ 2022, ‘23 and ‘24 first round draft picks. The Texans also received Cleveland’s fourth round pick in 2022 and ‘24, and a third round pick in 2023.

They were desperate to move on from the Baker Mayfield era.

Then, Cleveland gave Watson a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract that runs through the 2026 season. It is slowly becoming the worst trade, and contract, in the history of the NFL.

Worse than the Broncos trade for Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson.

Watson did not play in 2021, as he sat out in a dispute with the Texans. He was upset that they did not interview former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator for the head coaching job.

Then there was the slew of civil lawsuits filed against Watson for his alleged improper behavior with massage therapists from 2020 to 2021. After he was traded to the Browns, the NFL suspended Watson for 11 games.

He appeared in six games for the Browns in 2022, and the Browns were 3-3. Happy days were here in Cleveland.

Last season, his first full year playing since 2020, he suffered a major injury to his throwing shoulder and was limited to six games. The Browns were 5-1 in those games, but there is justified concern his best days are gone.

The last time he was upright for all 16 games, in 2020, the Texans finished 4-12. In his six year NFL career, he’s been a good quarterback in two of those seasons.

Watching him against the Cowboys on Sunday was not great. He wasn’t good. It was ugly. He was under pressure, but on the times he wasn’t he wasn’t sharp, or effective.

A lot of that can be attributed to the Cowboys defense. The front seven gave the Browns nothing.

Cleveland finished with 230 yards, and most of those came when the game was over.

“The Browns are still a good team and Deshaun Watson is a strong quarterback, especially in the pocket; he held his own,” Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence said. “He held the ball a lot for us, and we got an opportunity to touch him.

“It was all about us getting off the ball, and rushing. We knew they’d have two backup tackles in and it was about me and Micah putting pressure on him.”

The Cowboys defense should be pretty good, but the Browns and Watson made them look like the ‘86 Bears had a baby with the Cowboys’ Doomsday.

You may not be thrilled that the Cowboys gave Dak the bag, but it’s better than what Cleveland has in Deshaun.