CLEVELAND, Ohio – The day after Deshaun Watson had a lousy game and the Browns lost to Dallas, 33-17, the Browns QB was hit with another civil lawsuit involving sexual conduct with a woman.
The incident in the new lawsuit happened in 2020, according to the court filing. I don’t have an opinion on the details, etc. It’s unfair to speculate because it just became public Monday,
The real story is this is more agony for Browns fans.
Watson already had settled 23 different civil suits with women in 2022. The same lawyer who brought those suits also filed this one.
Like with many legal matters, questions linger.
But there is no doubt about this: For the Browns, the Watson acquisition has been a public-relations nightmare. It’s one they signed up for when they traded six draft picks to Houston. Then they gave Watson the monster five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract.
FYI: Watson’s five-year Cleveland deal also includes a “No Trade” clause. He has three years left on his contract, including this season.
Deshaun Watson on the day he was introduced to the media in 2022.David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com
It was an ownership decision
It’s not as if the Browns already had Watson on their roster and then the problems surfaced.
Instead, they made a megadeal for a player they knew would face a significant suspension. It turned out to be the first 11 games of the 2022 season.
The Browns also knew trading for Watson would fracture the fan base. The team can maintain it has a waiting list for season tickets. It can point to its large TV ratings, massive social media followers, etc.
And yes, fans still love the Browns – despite the Watson issues.
But I heard from many upset female fans … several told me they were in tears … when their favorite team traded for Watson. Lots of male fans also were angry about the deal.
The Browns believed Watson would play like the Deshaun Watson who was a three-time Pro Bowl selection with Houston (2018-2020). They were convinced winning would wipe away the tidal wave of criticism that accompanied the trade.
There can be a debate about who is responsible for acquiring Watson. But in the end, it comes down to what the ownership wants to do.
It doesn’t matter if every football person involved with the team wanted Watson.
Because of all the negative off-field baggage attached to Watson, this was more than a football decision. This was a franchise decision, and those are made by ownership, just as ownership had to approve what was the largest guaranteed contract in NFL history until Dallas signed QB Dak Prescott to a $240 million ($231 million guaranteed) contract Sunday.
It remains a major gamble
Along with the off-field aspect of the Watson trade, the Browns took a risk in another area.
In 2020, Watson signed a four-year contract extension with Houston. After the first season of that extension with the Texans, he was unhappy with the direction of the franchise. He refused to play in 2021, demanding a trade. As the season progressed, word of the allegations from the massage therapists came out,
Watson sat out the entire 2021 season. He received his full $18 million salary.
Then he was traded to Cleveland, using his no-trade clause to leverage a new contract and approve the deal. When word of the Browns negotiating for Watson became public, I wrote two columns begging them not to bring him to Cleveland. After the trade was made, I wrote “it oozed of desperation.”
By the time he took the field for the first time with Cleveland, it had been 700 days since he last appeared in a regular-season game. He struggled in most of his six games in 2022. He played only six games in 2023, his season ended with major shoulder surgery.
Deshaun Watson took 20 different hits in the loss to Dallas. Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com
Trouble on the field
The Browns believed Watson would answer their quarterback question, win a lot of games and the vast majority of fans would embrace him and the team.
Instead, Watson has played 13 games in his two-plus seasons with the Browns. He is one of the NFL’s lowest-rated quarterbacks in that span. Now he’s coming off major shoulder surgery.
The Browns continue to try to fix Watson. They have changed the offense, bringing in Ken Dorsey as the coordinator to make it more suited to Watson for the 2024 season.
In the Browns’ opening-day loss to Dallas, Watson was awful. He completed 24 of 45 passes for 169 yards. He threw a TD pass, had two interceptions and was 0 for 9 in passes thrown at least 15 yards.
Watson was pressured a lot. He was hit 20 times when you add up sacks, QB hits after throws and him running the ball. He won’t last long on the field taking that type of physical beating.
His scrambles make it difficult at times for his linemen to know where he is on the field – and to block for him. Nor does he seem as quick as he was during his best days in Houston when trying to evade opposing defenders.
Watson often hangs on to the ball too long. According to Pro Football Focus, his average time to throw was 3.12 seconds. That ranked 27th out of 33 QBs who played Sunday. Not all of his troubles were due to poor blocking.
The Browns have 16 more games this season. Perhaps Watson will surprise and find a way to become at least an above-average quarterback in the NFL. As for the latest lawsuit, it’s too soon to know what (if any) impact it will have on the Browns.
But to many Browns fans, Sunday’s game followed by Monday’s lawsuit is another reminder of how the Watson acquisition has brought frustration and embarrassment to the team they love.
