It's time to explode the Browns. A miserable season should result in an lively trade deadline

CLEVELAND — Blow it up. Blow all the pieces up. Light the wreckage, dump it into Lake Erie, and let it float to Pelee Island or Buffalo, or anywhere in between. The NFL's most costly roster is at the underside of the list of other famous shipwrecks and might only be accessed with fins and oxygen tanks.

Trade Za'Darius Smith, Dalvin Tomlinson and Jed Wills. Call competitors searching for a backup quarterback and send them Jameis Winston for market value (it won't be much). Elijah Moore can go together with him.

I'm undecided anyone here is able to have the conversation with Nick Chubb, but I don't think he could be value much anyway.

The greater point is that any player who isn't under contract beyond this season can leave because things will get so nasty by January that nobody will survive.

The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday. This roster should look very different by Wednesday, when general manager Andrew Berry has what is certain to be an uncomfortable conversation with reporters on the bye week.

This will soon be the Cleveland Browns' version of a Presidents Day mattress sale. Buy now, pay later. Zero percent financing with approved credit.

Some players left the locker room after Sunday's 27-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers with that zombie look, unsure how they came or what happens next.

“I’ve never been in this situation,” one veteran said on his way out of the locker room. “I’ve never been to a place where the season ended before the bye week.”

There's never a foul time to take per week off within the NFL, however the Browns begin their time without work with the necessity to step away from one another and decompress. Peeling. Maybe treat yourself to a pleasant foot peeling.

The Browns invested $337 million on this roster, $15 million greater than another team within the league. Not only is it the most costly roster, it's also the most costly roster in NFL history.

They have two wins.

They have blown up an offense and an offensive coaching staff that battled incredible injuries and adversity to make the playoffs last 12 months.

They have two wins.

Firing Alex Van Pelt as offensive coordinator was clearly an enormous mistake. It could have cost them Bill Callahan. The design and installation of whatever that is was a disaster.

The Deshaun Watson trade ruined the franchise. There isn’t any other approach to frame it. At the time of the deal, Watson seemed to be the higher quarterback, off-field baggage aside. But it didn't work out that way. The money they paid him, the approaching cap ceiling, the trade capital they sent to Houston, and Watson's inability to perform and stay healthy have slammed shut a window of contention that has rarely opened.

The Browns performed for 2 full seasons in 2016 and 2017 and won a playoff game in the next seven years. And now it's over.

Joel Bitonio still has one 12 months left on his contract, but he just turned 33 years old. Why would he wish to return there? Myles Garrett still has two years left. When does he go up and ask for a date?

Chubb is in the ultimate 12 months of his contract. How much does he truthfully have left? How much patience does he have left for a corporation that wasted the profession of top-of-the-line running backs in team history?

The entire offensive line may must be rebuilt. Those removed by Tuesday have to be replaced.

And all of this have to be done despite Watson's crushing cap hits, which still total greater than $170 million. If there’s a worse combination of roster projection and future cap charts anywhere in sports, I can't find it.

Winston threw interceptions to all corners of the sphere on Sunday, the secondary can't do easy things like communicating coverages right, and the special teams are a specific disaster. Blocked kicks are allowed. Great returns arose.

Jameis Winston today

16-31
0 pass TD
3 INT
24.5 Pass Rating pic.twitter.com/ytYWdg8XgX

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 3, 2024

The Browns were leaning toward Dorian Thompson-Robinson just a few weeks ago. His promotion from scout team quarterback to backup, although nobody bothered to inform him, would take greater than per week. Then Thompson-Robinson injured his finger and the Browns probably felt they owed it to the veterans to play Winston.

Well, there's nothing left to play for now. Garrett said the Browns could still win and take a 10-7 lead, which is precisely the form of words leaders should say from the rostrum. The season is over and all of the players comprehend it.

This was so near being the sport with probably the most Jameis Winstons ever pic.twitter.com/YopGOhepmh

— Football Digest (@FoootballDigest) November 3, 2024

Thompson-Robinson probably isn't the reply. He is just too small and can’t stay healthy. But coming off the bye week, whether Winston continues to be here or not, is the proper time to place him on the road against an equally lousy New Orleans Saints squad.

Either DTR surprises everyone, or more likely, the Browns are miserable about signing one other quarterback in March and starting this miserable process all all over again.

As for the fate of the front office and training staff, anything is feasible at this point. Nobody is protected. I assumed last 12 months tested Kevin Stefanski's mettle and his ability to carry the team together despite a storm of injuries. He was thriving for the time being. This is a very different challenge. The boys don’t have any alternative but their band and the following contract.

As the defense was introduced individually before the sport, Smith jogged out of the tunnel in his No. 99 jersey and blew kisses to the group. If this was his last day in a Browns uniform, it was his farewell.

Who else will join him?