Photo Caption: Deshaun Watson is under contract with the Browns through 2026. Photo courtesy of USA Today Network.
SAWYER GOLDWEIN | ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR | sgoldwein@butler.edu
Content warning: Reference to sexual assault.
Overtime, or “OT”, is an opinion column series where the Collegian takes national sports headlines or polarizing topics and gives them a Butler-centric angle.
For a quarter-century, the Cleveland Browns have had a so-called “revolving door” at the quarterback position, with 38 different signal callers starting at least one game for the franchise. In March of 2022, Deshaun Watson brought the revolving door to a screeching halt in the worst way possible.
The former Houston Texans standout had racked up accolades over the first four years of his NFL career, including three straight Pro Bowl selections. Unfortunately, just one year later he racked up something else: sexual assault allegations.
Following the 2020 season, Watson demanded a trade from the Texans. Shortly thereafter, the lawsuits began rolling in. Within one month, 22 women filed civil suits alleging sexual assault and misconduct by Watson. A few months after that, 10 criminal sexual assault charges were brought against Watson.
Watson sat out the entirety of the 2021 season amid his trade request and pending legal cases. On March 11. 2022, a grand jury ruled that Watson would not face criminal charges. That was all the Browns needed to hear.
On March 18., 2022, Cleveland traded one of the largest draft pick hauls in league history to acquire the controversial quarterback.
Naturally, this was a highly unpopular decision among fans of the other 31 NFL franchises, including sophomore sports media major John Chafe.
“It’s not a morally right thing to do, to trade for someone with that kind of history,” Chafe said. “I don’t care how good of an athlete he is, I think that’s just something that I wouldn’t be able to stomach as a fan.”
Before signing Watson, it was 2018 first-overall pick Baker Mayfield at the helm of the offense.
The Browns were fresh off a disappointing season in which fourth-year quarterback Mayfield played poorly while trying to fight through a partially torn labrum in his throwing shoulder. The former Heisman Trophy winner had an up-and-down tenure in Cleveland, leaving fans split on whether Mayfield was the Browns’ quarterback of the future.
Ultimately, Mayfield’s career in Cleveland ended with an ugly parting of ways and he was traded to the Carolina Panthers for a conditional fifth-round draft pick. But first, he was thrown under the bus — having both his character and ability attacked — all so that the Browns could acquire a talented, but troubled new supposed star.
Sophomore psychology major and Browns fan Tripp Martindale does not like how the situation was handled.
“There were rumors that came out about [the Browns] saying they ‘needed an adult in the locker room,’” Martindale said. “If we’re saying that, why are we going out and getting a guy who’s got double-digit allegations against him?”
Meanwhile, by allowing Watson to don the brown and orange, the Browns not only took a big swing by giving up their future to acquire the Clemson product, they also gave him the largest fully guaranteed contract in NFL history: $230 million over the course of five years.
At the time, the deal was met with overwhelming optimism from half of the fan base and downright abhorrence from the other half. Two years removed from the trade, it is clear which side was right.
Some Browns fans, including sophomore kinesiology major Mallory Kolath, are so disappointed with Watson’s play that they would prefer to simply eat his contract.
“The money is a hard thing to navigate, because if we let [Watson] go we’re losing a lot of money,” Kolath said. “But I would still rather do that than have him as my quarterback.”
Watson was suspended for the first six games of the 2022 season by a disciplinary officer appointed by the NFL and the NFL Players Association. However, the NFL appealed the suspension and later settled with Watson on an 11-game suspension and a $5 million fine. The suspension and 2021 holdout brought Watson’s total to 28 straight games missed, and it was apparent when he finally got back on the field.
The previously electrifying dual-threat quarterback has looked like a shell of his former self throughout his run in Cleveland. He failed to execute at the level expected of him as a leader, as a person and quarterback. This left many fans wishing they could undo the trade.
“Baker [Mayfield] is actually the reason why I was a Browns fan to begin with,” Martindale said. “I always thought he was better than he portrayed in his last season, so I thought we should’ve kept him.”
Martindale may be right, as Mayfield has been putting salt in the wounds of Browns fans by playing some of his best football since joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ahead of the 2023 season. In 19 starts with the Bucs, Mayfield has completed 65% of his passes, throwing for 4,518 yards, 33 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
By comparison, Watson — who has made just 14 starts since signing with the Browns before the 2022 season — has thrown for 2,572 yards, 15 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while completing just 59.5% of his passes.
“Baker Mayfield has been a million times better,” Chafe said. “Not only is he better on the field, but he’s had no off-field issues since he’s become a professional.”
In the first week of the 2024 season, the dichotomy between Watson and Mayfield was on full display.
Watson was 24 for 45 through the air, for 169 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in an ugly 33-17 home loss to the Cowboys.
Meanwhile, Mayfield put on a clinic down in Tampa Bay. He completed 24 passes on just 30 attempts, good for 289 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. To cap off the stellar performance, the Buccaneers took a 37-20 victory over the Commanders.
Two days later, things went from bad to worse for Watson and the Browns when news of another lawsuit broke. Watson is being sued by a Texas woman who alleges sexual assault, sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress in an incident that occurred in October 2020.
The NFL is looking into the new information, but neither they nor the Browns appear likely to discipline Watson again anytime soon, if ever.
That means that for the time being, Browns fans are still stuck with an alleged serial sexual assaulter playing quarterback.
The Browns franchise and stadium have been given many names over the years, including “The Factory of Sadness” and “The Mistake on the Lake.” In the past, these monikers have been sad, yet humorous reminders of the franchise’s lack of success. Now, they represent complete organizational failure from a team whose fans deserve so much better. Browns fans can persevere through losing, but they want nothing to do with Deshaun Watson.
“I will always be a Browns fan until the day I die,” Kolath said. “But I will never be a Deshaun Watson fan.”
