Hoodie Network
Alright, alright, you can all settle down now… the King is back! On a real note, life has been incredibly crazy as of late: moving into a new apartment, getting ready to start a new job, and keeping up with all of the drama the Browns have been pumping out. It’s kept me from putting out content like I would have liked, but the season is about to start and I’m ready to get it going. Let’s get straight to it!
The Facts
The Cleveland Browns acquired 3x Pro Bowler QB Deshaun Watson and a 2024 6th round pick in exchange for a massive haul of picks: a 2022 1st and 4th, 2023 1st and 3rd, 2024 1st and 4th. The breakdown of the trade is quite easy, to be honest. Deshaun Watson is a better quarterback than Baker Mayfield, and Baker is no longer making “rookie contract” money. As for the compensation, you have to pay a ransom when trading for one of the best players in the league, especially at the most important position and when that player is only 26. But this trade isn’t simply about the player and the picks, it’s about much more.
Deshaun Watson was accused of sexual harassment and sexually abusive behavior by 22 female masseuses. Long story short, he is accused of asking women to massage his genital region, touching the women with his erect penis, moving in a way that would make his penis touch the women, and requesting sexual acts be done by the women. If this Is true, this shows a clear pattern of predatory behavior.
Unfortunately, it’s not that cut and dry. Two different grand juries in Texas declined to criminally charge Watson. This doesn’t mean he’s innocent, it just means that there isn’t enough evidence to charge him. Watson has also settled all but one of the 22 civil cases against him.
Deshaun Watson was initially suspended 6 games by judge Sue L. Robinson. The NFL then appealed that decision. Eventually, the NFL and Deshaun Watson agreed on an 11-game suspension and a $5 million fine, which will be accompanied by a $1 million donation from both the NFL and the Cleveland Browns. The $7 million in total will be donated to groups that help prevent sexual assault.
My Thoughts
My initial reaction to the Browns trading for Deshaun Watson was “OH MY GOD YES!!!” The Browns traded for, in my mind, a top 5 QB in the NFL. How could I not be elated? The Browns traded for a top tier QB and locked him into a deal for 4 years. Cleveland secured their franchise QB.
However, after thinking on it for a while, my thoughts have become a bit more nuanced. Yes, I’m happy that the player Deshaun Watson was traded to my favorite team, but the player Deshaun Watson also comes with the person Deshaun Watson. I can vouch for Watson the player, but all clues point to Watson the person being not a great guy.
Up until about a week ago, my thoughts were pretty secure: Watson was a great player that should have been suspended somewhere from half a season to a full season. What happened a week ago? Bills punter Matt Araiza and two of his college teammates were accused of gang raping a minor during their time at San Diego State. My initial reaction this time was disgust. Absolutely abhorrent. I think the Bills were correct to release him. But this made me rethink my thoughts about the new Browns QB.
Now, these situations are a bit different. Watson is not accused of anything quite so violent, is not accused of doing anything with anyone underage, and is one of the league’s best players at the most important position. Right or wrong, talent level does play a part in this.
In fact, I realized that Watson’s talent level and my love for the Browns made it impossible for me to give an objective, unbiased opinion on this. As much as I want to be fair and honest, my excitement for Cleveland having a great QB makes it extremely difficult to do so. I still believe that Watson should have been suspended for the full year, but I also believe that if Watson was not a great football player, I would be saying that he shouldn’t ever play in the NFL again.
Update on 12/7/22: Matt Araiza and his two former San Diego State teammates will NOT face criminal charges related to the incident. There is a still a civil case pending.
The Football Side of Things
Acquiring Deshaun Watson puts the Browns in Super Bowl contention, when at full strength. The Browns already have a very good run game. Adding Deshaun Watson should give them a very good passing offense to match with it. If Watson can play anywhere close to the level he did when he last saw the field, which I have no doubt that he will, the Browns will be a lethal offense that opposing defenses can only hope to slow down.
The only red flag on the offense is the WR depth. Amari Cooper is a very good WR1, although no longer elite. The problem starts after that. Donovan Peoples-Jones should take a big step forward, but he has a long way to go on his journey to being a great WR2. Besides them, the WR room is kind of dry. Anthony Schwartz has speed, but can’t reliably catch. David Bell is a promising rookie with size and great hands, but I have my doubts about his ability to separate against NFL talent. Michael Woods is the only other WR on the roster currently, and he’s a rookie that isn’t going to see the field much. TEs David Njoku and Harrison Bryant should help, but they are the only TEs on the roster. If one of them gets injured, that’s going to hinder the offense.
As for the defense, there was really only 2 areas of concern last year: rush defense and health. I’m not convinced that the Browns have massively upgraded their rush defense, honestly. Time will tell if they can do better than last year, with Joe Mixon, Najee Harris, and a now healthy J.K. Dobbins taking up a good chunk of their schedule. Health, on the other hand, is entirely up to chance. So far, things look good. Besides some minor tweaks, pretty much everyone is healthy and ready to do. As the season goes on, we’ll see if that remains true.
Super Bowl Contenders?
Deshaun Watson is suspended for the first 11 games of the season, which, if I might say, is quite… convenient considering his first game back will be against his former team. Nice one, Mr. Goodell! This means that Jacoby Brissett will be the starter for the first 11 games of the season. With Brissett manning the offense, the Browns are not as lethal as previously mentioned. Still, they’re a good team that is looking to make the playoffs.
The opponents for the first 11 games, and my predictions, are as follows:
The Browns have a very easy opening to their schedule. The Panthers, Jets, Steelers, and Falcons are not exactly upper echelon teams currently. I think we start off 3-1. I would say 4-0, but the Steelers are a tough game no matter how weak I think they are at QB.
After that, it gets rough. The easy games over the next 7 weeks are the Pats and Dolphins, who are not exactly “gimme wins”, but I think we’ll win, nonetheless. The rest of this stretch is brutal, to be frank. Chargers, Ravens, Bengals, Bills, and Bucs. That’s about as tough of a schedule that I can think of. I pick us to lose every one of these games.
This leaves the Browns at 5-6 before they get Deshaun Watson back at QB, and honestly that’s me being optimistic. The Browns only hope to get to the playoffs this year is to win out once Watson gets back and to get extremely lucky with wildcard scenarios. As much as it pains to say it, things are not looking promising.
@ Panthers | W |
vs Jets | W |
vs Steelers | L |
@ Falcons | W |
vs Chargers | L |
vs Patriots | W |
@ Ravens | L |
vs Bengals | L |
BYE | |
@ Dolphins | W |
@ Bills | L |
vs Buccaneers | L |