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Reaction to Deshaun Watson trade shows the 2 different worlds of the NFL

Jack Baer
Staff writer
·7 min read
141

Deshaun Watson is the Cleveland Browns' new starting quarterback.

After nearly a year-long standoff with the Houston Texans over a trade demand interrupted by a litany of sexual misconduct allegations, the Pro Bowl quarterback got pretty much everything he wanted. A trade to a team that becomes an instant contender with him under center. A contract that not only makes him the second-highest-paid player in NFL history, but is fully guaranteed to boot. The ability to act like it's business as usual.

The Browns, looking to move on from middling quarterback Baker Mayfield, were willing to give up three first-round draft picks and two additional picks for the right to trade for Watson, then gave the quarterback a record five-year, $230 million contract extension before he ever played a snap in Cleveland.

The whole situation is surreal in a way, with NFL teams showing they could not care less about the allegations against Watson. The news that the quarterback would not have to face criminal charges basically functioned as a starter's pistol for his trade market, despite the 22 civil lawsuits still pending against Watson and a potential suspension from the NFL still looming.

The reaction to the Watson trade showed that many observers didn't feel the Watson allegations needed mentioning either, as several notable names were quick to congratulate Watson on his windfall, hype up the Browns for going all in and marvel at the spectacle of another big NFL move, as if it were any other big NFL move.

Maybe if they were communicating via a medium other than Twitter, in which they were allowed more than 280 characters to explain their feelings and contextualize their analysis, the Watson allegations would have been worth mentioning, but that's the nature of how fandom operates in 2022.

Of course, there were quite a few NFL observers who couldn't see the move as anything other than the embrace of a player facing a litany of sexual misconduct allegations, contract and trade terms be damned. He might have avoided criminal charges, but to act as if he's an innocent man, as many were, comes with the implication a group of more than 20 women were collectively lying, which didn't sit well with this group.

More than a few Browns fans denounced the trade, but they were the minority.

There was also one person happy to confront the Watson allegations from a pro-Watson angle, not a surprise considering his own legal situation has run almost parallel to Watson's: accused of sexual assault in 2021 and recently reported to have avoided criminal charges, while still facing a potential league suspension.

Trevor Bauer very much liked what he was seeing.

Antonio Brown, who has had his own sexual assault allegations disregarded in the past, went even further. With Watson aboard, he saw the Browns as a potential destination.

HOUSTON, TEXAS - JANUARY 03: Deshaun Watson #4 of the Houston Texans in action against the Tennessee Titans during a game at NRG Stadium on January 03, 2021 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
Deshaun Watson is headed to the Cleveland Browns. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)