Former quarterback Chris Simms started the segment off on a blunt note:

“Right now, Deshaun Watson with his contract (and) the trade (Cleveland) made to the Houston Texans, has totally handcuffed the whole organization” Simms said. “If it was any other quarterback in football, we would be talking about benching him.”

Garrett, a University School graduate who went on to become the Cowboys head coach between 2011-2019, gave his thoughts:

“Your No. 1 job as a head coach is to play the right guys, the guys that give you the best chance to win,” Garrett said. “You can’t watch the Cleveland Browns and say this guy gives you the best chance to win.”

Garrett further spoke on the effects of keeping Watson as the starter can do to the locker room, and suggests what Browns coach Kevin Stefanski should consider.

“You lose credibility in the locker room when you let other factors come involved — money, when he was drafted, how long the contract is. He’s got to sit back and take courage, Kevin Stefanski, and say what’s the best thing for our team,” Garrett said.

“I think right now, give Jameis Winston a shot… it doesn’t mean this is the decision for the rest of your life, you can make a two-way decision; a few weeks from now, maybe you bring him back into it. But they can’t go down the road that they’re going down right now, they have no chance to win.”

Devin McCourty, the former Patriots safety for 13 seasons who contributed to three Super Bowl runs, spoke on the quarterback dilemma from the defensive perspective. He feels the underwhelming play of Watson has hampered the approach of Cleveland’s defense.

“If you’re playing defense right now, we always talk about those quarterbacks that always give the team hope. They don’t have that right now,” McCourty said. “The defense isn’t looking at Deshaun Watson like, ‘If we make this stop he’ll go win.’

“I think this defense is coming into games like, ‘Hey, it doesn’t matter what we do, they’re gonna find a way to lose the game on the other side.’ ”

Stefanski said after the loss Sunday that he will not bench Watson.

“We’re not changing quarterbacks. We need to play better. I need to coach better, and that’s really what it is,” Stefanski said. “This is not a one-person issue on offense. We have the guys, we have the coaches. We will get it fixed.”

Watson completed 53.6% of his passes for 125 yards and one touchdown, which came during fourth period of what was a decided game. He was also sacked seven times, increasing his league-leading sack total to 26 on the season.

Backup Jameis Winston subbed in for Watson toward the end of the game, completing one pass for 16 yards. If Winston were to start at some point this season, it’d be his first start since Week 3 of the 2022 season with the Saints, where he completed 61% of his passes for 353 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in a loss to Carolina.

The Browns are now one of six teams with a record of 1-4.