The Cleveland Browns’ aggressive trade and contract extension for Deshaun Watson is the type of move that can set back a franchise for years.
The Browns acquired Watson thinking he would be their starting quarterback for the foreseeable future after his success with the Houston Texans, but he ended up being a disaster both on and off the field.
Watson’s legal troubles and injuries made him unavailable for long stretches, but even this season when he was healthy the veteran looked way out of his depth.
Cleveland’s offense was one of the worst in the NFL with Watson at the controls, and teams around the league began to speculate how they would handle him on the roster.
His season-ending Achilles tear put the Browns in a bind as now they are stuck with an injured quarterback taking up a roster spot.
Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com recently explained how the move to acquire Watson has hurt not only the organization but the fans as well.
“I don’t believe the franchise has ever honestly admitted how the Watson trade fractured the fan base. It also crushed the salary cap, as they keep trying to dig out of the rubble. Fans know only the ill-advised contract is the reason he’ll be back in some to-be-determined role,” Pluto wrote.
Fans were wary of trading for Watson given the baggage he came with, and now they must accept that he’ll be on the team for at least a couple more years due to his contract situation.
Cleveland put itself in this mess and will continue to deal with the consequences moving forward.
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