Deshaun Watson arrives in Cleveland as a talent upgrade over Baker Mayfield. It’s for that reason Browns brass effectively put on blinders around the baggage the quarterback will also be bringing to their organization.
Watson, after it was determined he wouldn’t face criminal charges for a bevy of sexual misconduct allegations, got his trade request met Friday when the Houston Texans sent him to the Browns.
Teams were allowed to meet with and woo Watson last week, and the Browns’ willingness to give him the new contract he was seeking appeared to be enough to get him to choose Cleveland.
While there were some who celebrated, others lamented the implicit messaging sent by the team in their acquisition of Watson – who still could face civil penalties and a suspension by the NFL.
So after the trade went down, NFL Media analyst and lifelong Browns fan Marc Sessler renounced his Browns fandom on the “Around the NFL" podcast.
“This is a different type of lever pull and organizational decision,” Sessler said. “It’s a huge decision. I don’t know if they understand inside their bubble what it means to different types of Browns fans and people out there and how their organization will be perceived forever. It’s the biggest transaction they’ve ever made, and I just feel like I can’t – sports already feel cynical enough to me, I can’t sit around and rah-rah this. I’m out. That’s it, that’s sort of where I’m at now. I need a break.
“Why am I out? Because they’ve gone and put all the chips in on someone that I think where we are in 2021, and I don’t care about – I’m already getting killed by pockets of Browns fans like what about Kareem Hunt? What about this or that? You’re right, I don’t think personally as a fan of the team I ever thought about taking certain stances. I don’t know why, I can’t explain the past, but this stands up to me as something completely different. I think everyone has to make a choice if you’re a Browns fan of where you are on this. I don’t really care where anyone else is, I care where I’m at. At my age of 48, is it more important to be loyal as a fan to a team or just think about where I am today? I’m done. It’s over.”
The Browns insist that they vetted Watson and that he left them feeling comfortable that he would not cause problems. Make of that what you will, but fans like Sessler likely will be pushed away by this no matter what the team says.
The extent that will damage the reputation of the Browns remains to be seen.
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