Unless Deshaun Watson leads the Cleveland Browns to victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, the organization may be forced to call off what will go down in history as the worst NFL deal ever.
With the club returning home next week, the stadium will undoubtedly be packed with fans eager to vent their anger if they fall to 1-5.
Prior to the 2022 season, the Browns acquired him from the Houston Texans in exchange for three first-round draft picks. Watson is poised to start just his 18th game in that span.
Since Watson returned to the field from his suspension, the prospect of trading him and his $230 million, fully guaranteed deal has seemed out of reach.
With all of that stated, ESPN presented a proposal for an implausible but intriguing deal yesterday.
On the Unsportsmanlike Radio show, host Evan Cohen proposed a trade idea that the Browns are familiar with. Cohen stated that a desperate team with much of cap space, like as the Carolina Panthers, should be willing to accept Watson and assist cover the cap impact in exchange for more draft picks.
Cleveland made a similar transaction in 2017 when they acquired quarterback Brock Osweiler from the Texans. The move was startling at the time, leaving many analysts scratching their heads.
Essentially, the Browns acquired an additional second-round pick, saving the Texans $16 million in cash and $10 million against the salary limit. The full provisions of the agreement were:
Osweiler, 2nd and 6th
Texans received
That second-round pick was eventually used to select Nick Chubb in the 2018 draft, who was a key component of the Browns’ rebuild.
Carolina appears to be moving on from Bryce Young, and as Cohen pointed out, the team will struggle to lure quality in free agency. Having extra picks may help them draft talent.
In theory, the Panthers would not lose any money by taking a cap hit on Watson. The exact sum would need to be discussed, as the more pay a team like Carolina would take on, the more draft capital the Browns would have to give up.
Given the price of the Osweiler trade, Cleveland would most likely have to give up a number of high draft picks over the course of several seasons.
In the end, a scenario like this is implausible, and the league would analyze any such contract, but it is a novel answer for all involved. The catch for Browns fans is that they will have to give up any more draft picks.
The prospect of that is difficult for an older club that is already missing the fresh talent that could have been acquired with those first-round picks.
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