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The Cleveland Browns are sticking with quarterback Deshaun Watson as their QB1, but NFL Insider Mike Sando of The Athletic has a plan on how Cleveland can avoid Watson altogether. The plan is extremely detailed and involves a plethora of hypotheticals. On the Scoop City podcast, Sando described what they could pull off if a potential team was interested.
“If you were a general manager of another team and I was general manager of the Browns,” Sando said. I would say, ‘Hey, you guys have a billionaire owner and he’s loaded, you guys don’t have a very good team and you guys have a lot of cap space.' Is there any way we could trade Deshaun to you, and you could cut Deshaun whatever you want to do?
Watson is one of the least team-friendly contracts in the entire NFL. He's set to make $92 million guaranteed for the next two seasons. The contract wouldn't be so gruesome if the Browns were having a successful year. However, it's been anything but that. Cleveland has a 1-5 record with Watson as the QB1 and the offense is in a funk. Despite running back Nick Chubb being out, Watson still has the talent to win games.
Deshaun Watson's contract is an eyesore for the Browns', and other teams
The nearly $100 million that Watson is guaranteed is concerning. It would be one thing if he performed like he did with the Houston Texans. However, it's been the inverse since returning from his injury. So far this season, Watson has thrown for 1,020 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions. He hasn't had a game over 200 passing yards.
Also, their offense has been porous, to say the least. They're 30th in the league for points per game (15.8). Also, they haven't scored over 20 points in a game this season. Sando detailed his plan involving draft picks and what the Cleveland front office would think.
“We’ll give you X amount of picks,” Sando said. “We’ll give you two 2nd round picks and you give us back a player that you don’t want on your team. And what that will do is it will severely reduce the cap hit that Cleveland faces. By doing the trade that cap burden and cash burden some of that would go over to the other team.”
Unless Watson flips the switch soon, he could be headed for the trade block. Despite his contract, some teams like the Tennessee Titans, and Las Vegas Raiders could be willing to make the trade to establish consistent play at the position.
