The Cleveland Browns made a miraculous trip to the playoffs in 2023 despite starting five different quarterbacks, losing multiple offensive linemen and missing star running back Nick Chubb for almost the entire season.
While lost in the Wild Card round to the Texans, the architects of the Browns’ success won big at NFL Honors this year.
Kevin Stefanski won his second NFL Coach of the Year award, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz also won Assistant Coach of the Year for building one of the best defenses in the NFL this past season and quarterback Joe Flacco won Comeback Player of the Year after he navigated Cleveland to the playoffs at the end of the season.
Stefanski and Schwartz are back, but Flacco is gone with Deshaun Watson expected to return fully healthy from his mid-season shoulder surgery. Other Browns stars are back as well — especially along the offensive and defensive line — but it’s unclear when or if Chubb will play in 2024 after he suffered a significant knee injury in Week 2. The Browns haven’t provided much in the way of updates on Chubb, and the running back himself doesn’t have a timetable for when he’d play.
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This all sets up for a wildly unpredictable 2024 season for Cleveland. The Browns still have one of the best defenses in the NFL, but there is a lot of uncertainty about how the offense will run with Watson and potentially without Chubb.
Cleveland Browns stars in ‘make-or-break’ season
The Browns’ offense could have one of the best wide receiver trios in the NFL with Amari Cooper, Elijah Moore and Jerry Jeudy. But Watson has been incredibly inconsistent during his time with Cleveland. The running back is a huge question mark as well without Chubb in the backfield. Some combination of D’Onta Foreman, Jerome Ford and Pierre Strong Jr. will lead the ground attack.
This is why Watson and Chubb both landed on NFL.com’s Nick Shook’s “Make-or-break” list for the 2024 season. The duo are coming off of major injuries and have a lot to prove in 2024.
On Watson:
… Watson appeared to be turning a corner last year before he was forced to go under the knife. Once his rehab’s complete, he’ll again embark on a season — this one being his third in Cleveland — with the Browns’ hopes resting on his shoulders. He also needs to live up to the fully guaranteed five-year, $ 230 million deal Cleveland handed him in 2022, because to this point, the Browns have not received anything close to a quality return on their investment. If that continues, we might see Cleveland consider alternative options before long, making 2024 an absolutely pivotal year for Watson.
On Chubb:
