Deshaun Watson trade: Breaking down every angle of the blockbuster
By Khari Demos
Deshaun Watson trade: Final Thoughts
When considering all that went into this deal, it’s hard to blame the Browns for making this move. In a true player-for-player comparison, Cleveland upgraded from Mayfield with Watson. And considering how butt hurt the 2018 No. 1 pick seemed, it was in the Browns’ best interest to move on from him.
Now football aside, the move itself is not the most popular one in terms of public perception. Some have voiced their opinions as to why the Browns essentially sold their souls at the expense of competing for championships. But at the same time, can we really be surprised by that from this Cleveland franchise?
This is the same team that brought Hunt on after a gruesome video surfaced of him assaulting a woman. This same team put up with Josh Gordon’s issues across seven seasons. These same Browns had Sheldon Richardson from 2019-20, a player who’s had his off-field struggles as well.
Cleveland even had the Garrett on-field helmet debacle with Mason Rudolph in ’19, which some felt was worth a lifetime ban.
The Browns seem content with handling players who may come with some baggage. Even on a smaller scale, that’s why it makes sense that they brought players like Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry, despite some of the hoopla coming in with said names.
Maybe Watson not being criminally charged was the right decision. Maybe the NFL will find that there was wrongdoing on his end in this whole situation. Who knows. But all I do know is that this is a day that will go down in NFL history.
Now the question is will that be groundbreaking history or infamy? Only time will tell.