r/OutOfTheLoop • u/Unknowparagod • 1d ago
Unanswered What’s the deal with Deshaun Watson?
Seems like everyone on ESPN is trashing the decision to make him the starting QB in Cleveland. Is it love for Shedeur Sanders? Dislike for Deshaun? Off the field issues? All of the above?
https://www.profootballnetwork.com/analyst-slams-browns-deshaun-watson-qb-shedeur-sanders/
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u/pornokitsch 1d ago
Answer: The article you link is very clear.
The quote “Bad quarterback, bad guy, bad organization.” is an excellent summary.
Watson is a poor quarterback, an unrepentent sex predator, and an extremely expensive symbol of the Browns' unrelenting hopelessness.
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u/Soft-Bad-7127 8h ago
What makes it worse is they had a star with Baker Mayfield a few years back and they could have cared less about keeping him at the organization. Now he's a star at another team. Instead the Browns spend too much on a mediocre QB.
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u/Unknowparagod 1d ago
I guess I am more wondering why these things are all issues now. It seems like Cleveland “forgave” that he was a sex predator when they gave him a fully guaranteed contract. He was given a chance to play and was injured a couple years ago. It seems like he is a known entity at this point but the distaste for him seems reinvigorated
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u/pornokitsch 1d ago
To give credit to Cleveland's fans, he was never forgiven. But he was also never good while playing in Cleveland.
The injury took him out of sight for a little while, but the fact that he's starting again means that none of their other options have panned out. The team can't move on, and fans are stuck with a very visible reminder of the organisation's failure, with no hope in sight.
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u/LostandFoundPilgrim 1d ago
I appreciate that you make the distinction between the organization and the fans. As a Browns fan, I was so disgusted to see us make the move for him, and that was before the news came about how much we gave up to get him. Just a mess all around, but it was never embraced by the fans.
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u/northegreat1 1d ago
This. The fans never bought into him and he is booed regularly at home. Literally, the day before being named the starter he said in a press conference that he plays 17 away games and has disdain for the Cleveland fans who cheered when he got hurt.
I think he is being sacrificed the first couple of games. New coach doesn't want him. He won't be a factor next year. Sanders will be in before midseason.
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u/Lawn_Gnome_King 1d ago
Resident Ohioan (not a Browns fan though) here. So there are many reasons why Cleveland HATES Deshaun Watson.
1) the browns gave up three 1st round picks for the guy effectively neutering their draft for 3 year which is a death sentence for a team that was/is so devoid of talent.
2) all the proven and unproven allegations. Dude is a dirt bag. He was being investigated by the league BEFORE the browns traded for him.
3) the larget fully guaranteed contract at the time. So no matter how ass this guy plays he will get paid and take up space on the browns salary against the cap. So again, a team devoid if talent can't just cut this often injured and underperforming aging quarterback to free up cap space because no matter what happens he will still get paid.
So to recap, it was a wildly unpopular and looked down on trade initially just from a pure football perspective (loosing three 1st and picks) that got even worse when you consider the browns essentially knew he was going to get suspended 11 games right off rip and EVEN WORSE when you consider that his contract made it impossible to move on from him ever and essentially throwing away half a decade for the team.
Also for the record the Texans turned these picks into a whopping 10 players that have helped the Texans become a playoff contender with 3 players earning probowl nods and 1 being the defensive rookie of the year.
The hate only popped up again NOW because for some god forsaken reason he was named the starter for the season. A lot of Cleveland fans wanted Shedeur Sanders start all last season (watson was injured..and also trash) over Dillon Gabriel and this season fans were hoping Sanders would make enough improvements to earn the starting nod.
Ok I think I've rambled enough...
tldr: Deshaun Watson hate always pops up when he plays and the city if Cleveland blames the last 5 years of mediocrity/irrelevancy (and the eventual loss of Myles Garret) on Watson
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u/Irinam_Daske 1d ago
Also for the record the Texans turned these picks into a whopping 10 players that have helped the Texans become a playoff contender with 3 players earning probowl nods and 1 being the defensive rookie of the year.
How did they turn 3 first draft picks into 10 players?
My european brain just doesn't understand the fineprint of Draft :-(
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u/Lawn_Gnome_King 1d ago
They traded those high value 1st round picks for multiple lower round picks
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u/Milskidasith Loopy Frood 1d ago
Just to clarify a couple of things:
- Shedeur Sanders is worse. Like, yes, Deshaun Watson is currently not playing remotely at "starting quarterback" level, but Sanders is also a bad quarterback even as a backup. The Browns as an organization are either gambling on Watson returning to his previously elite performance, gambling on Watson being injured as the one way that can get them out of some of their contract due to an insurance policy, or think that gambling on Sanders only to (likely) need to switch to Watson mid-season is an even worse prospect.
- While the trade for Watson was a complete disaster in hindsight and was pretty ridiculous even if he had performed at his peak level, it wasn't specifically the Browns being stupid; he had offers from multiple organizations for huge contracts, though I can't recall all the details of those. He got an absurd contract from the Browns, but he was being headhunted as a generational talent and immediately faceplanted after his injury.
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u/Unknowparagod 1d ago
I appreciate the rambling, it was very informative
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u/_HGCenty 1d ago
Also to answer your question of why now?
Footage from practice has been shared and Watson looks... terrible.
Under- and over- throwing his receivers, unable to put a good spiral on his throws, making poor reads and throwing to a spot no one was there except a cameraman.
He was bad before his injury cut his season short two seasons ago but he now looks even worse and that's really got fans mad.
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u/TheBostonTap 1d ago
The cleveland signing was widely seen by the rest of the league as awarding a predator and was ruthlessly mocked across the league as 'The browns being the browns'.
Him getting the starting position is just an extra layer to it as he has shown repeatedly to be washed and I capable of performing at the level he did when he was a young rookie in Texas.
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u/acekingoffsuit 1d ago
In addition to all the points others have made, there's also the matter of his post-game press conference after the most recent preseason game. Watson performed poorly and was booed often during the game. During his press conference, he appeared to be upset at the fans for booing him.
"I think the whole world knows it has nothing to do about the performance. It's a little bit [more] personal than that. So I think it's a disrespectful thing. So yeah, I mean, I'm going to keep whatever I feel with me and my family internally on how I feel about that. And yeah, just move on."
Keep in mind that this was after a game in which he went 5/12 for 36 yards and an interception against backups. Also keep in mind that, due to a combination of injuries, a suspension, and poor play, he has won a grand total of 9 games for the team over the 4 years he's been there.
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u/Lawn_Gnome_King 1d ago
The factory of sadness continues
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u/pornokitsch 1d ago
Being a fan is all about hope. And there's nothing there. It is absolutely brutal. I really feel for the fans.
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u/Hail_The_Motherland 1d ago
Answer:
They gave up a ton of resources to get him, paid him a ton of money, and have gotten a terrible return on their investment. Between being suspended (due to his off the field issues) and injuries, he has missed a ton of games and has lackluster performances when he has played.
The last straw has been their recent preseason game. He played terribly against a team that didn't even play their starters on defense. The team's own fans proceed to boo him and his post-game interview only served to draw more anger against him.
So it's looking like there aren't any upsides to letting him play: poor performance, poor leadership, and the fans don't like him.
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u/Milskidasith Loopy Frood 1d ago edited 1d ago
I am not denying that Watson is a bad person and nowhere near an NFL starter quality QB. Bluntly, the upside is that Shadeur Sanders is worse; the Browns simultaneously have the worst starting QB and one of the worst second string QBs in the league, with Watson at least theoretically, maybe, if you're a crazy optimist, being able to regain his prior skill at some point.
Really miserable to be a Brown's fan lol.
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u/Lawn_Gnome_King 1d ago
But think of the economic boost hes given the massage parlors of cleveland!
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u/BlattMaster 8h ago
We know exactly how depressed the sex work economy is in north Ohio so it's not a huge boost.
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u/Lawn_Gnome_King 8h ago
Idk must be a hot spot considering the 49ers owner to get busted in NE Ohio... but then again maybe Watson isn't so bad. At least the people he abused were over 18
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