It's time for Brissett

There are times, few fortunately, where I did not thoroughly check what I had written before posting. From the department of woulda, coulda and shoulda, I blew it again with the following  piece, headline and all. Certain norms have to be in place before I post. I rushed this without thinking. No excuses. 

For reasons I cannot explain, I never took into consideration that trading for Jacoby Brissett would not be possible. The NFL trading deadline was Halloween. We're just days away from Thanksgiving. The thought was there; the thinking was totally absent.

Apologies.

So unless there are backroom shenanigans that exist in the NFL that I am not aware of, it looks like the Browns have to finish the season with a career backup and raw rookie at the most important position on a football team.

*     *     *

Rather than sulk and feel self-pitied, there is only one move that makes any sense for the Browns after the 2023 season was dealt what could be a death blow Wednesday with the news Deshaun Watson is done for the season with a broken bone in his throwing shoulder.

He has a displaced fracture of the glenoid, a socket joint of the shoulder that supports the labrum and requires surgery to correct it. Just when he appeared to be on the road to recovery following a rotator cuff problem in the same shoulder earlier this season that robbed him of three games, the $230 million man is gone. Just like that.

Instead of feeling sorry for themselves, which wouldn't be wrong considering the misfortunes that have dogged the Browns this season, General Manager Andrew Berry must, if he already hasn't, grab his cell phone, call fellow GM Martin Mayhew of the Washington Commanders and put together a deal to bring Jacoby Brissett back to the team.

That's what this team needs right now. Check that. This is what this team deserves right now. To be 6-3 at this point of the season with all these major injuries is remarkable. To not make this move now would be a slap in the face of every player on the roster. 

Berry and Mayhew spoke earlier in the season about Brissett when it was uncertain whether Watson was going to fully recover from a rotator cuff injury that hampered his throwing motion and prevented him from drilling the football.

It was reported Berry balked at surrendering such a high draft pick and decided to move on by elevating P. J. Walker from the practice squad. And the veteran journeyman has come through with a couple of victories thanks largely to the terrific defense. 

But this solution makes too much sense to pass on. Brissett had the Browns' huddle last season for the first 11 games while Watson sat out a suspension and won four games. He could easily have been 6-5 or even 7-4, but was saddled with a defense that blew three games. He knows head coach Kevin Stefanski's system.

It's incumbent on Berry to do whatever it takes. Desperate times call for desperate measures. This overwhelmingly qualifies. If the Commanders want a second-day draft pick -- probably a third-rounder -- for Brissett, so be it. 

It very well could mean the difference between qualifying for the postseason and falling short if the GM obstinately draws the line at giving up a draft choice. (He loves stockpiling them.)

Mayhew definitely has Berry by the short and curlies and has to do what's best for his club. He's set at quarterback, though, with second-year man Sam Howell, who is having a decent season. And he's got Jake Fromm on the practice squad in case he and Berry agree on a deal on Brissett.

Pending Berry's decision, the Browns will navigate the rest of the season with rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson or journeyman P. J. Walker in charge of the huddle. The rookie, whose starting NFL debut in week four at home against Baltimore was a disaster, gets the first shot Sunday at home against division-leading Pittsburgh.

The main difference this time is DTR knows he's starting against the Steelers. He'll have a full week of preparation. He didn't know he was starting against the Ravens until minutes before the game when Watson shut it down after making a couple of throws warming up.

The rookie declared it will be different this time. "Night and day," he said. "It'll be a clear difference, I finally got my feet wet. I know what I do. I know what to study when I go out there."

Just another mind-numbing chapter in this saga.