Remember when the browns won in the playoffs? Then they got rid of that quarter back for a guy who hasn't played a full season in years and paid out the ass. And then the other quarter back won another playoff game for another team. Good ol browns
@@cbjm36 But they wouldn't have had to pay him as much as an elite QB and could build the rest of the roster. Now they payed a worst dude elite QB money and are screwed lol
@@King_Immanuel you can build a roster however much you want. If you’ve got Baker Mayfield at QB you ain’t winning a Super Bowl. I’ll still take the potential (no matter how little it is now) that Deshaun goes back to his Houston days over Baker
Totally agreed. They paid too much and got very little in return. They should have kept Baker and now that money could have been used to get some really good players.
@@luiscavazos4762As a Texans fan you should be more worried about The Texans giving it hotel rooms an NDA documents to a guy worth 200 million. Ooh yeah they paid the 304's as well. Watson got to the playoffs BITCH
@@AglassOfWater_55555 I dont like him as a saints fan. I was optimistic at first with gruden being on our staff but that didnt seem to help. Carr does have a run game like he had in vegas to rely on and our offensive line is shaky and he is the worst qb in the leauge under pressure so it was spelling disaster for us the whole time
As a Browns fan, one thing I learned about the 2023 season is that we have great depth players. AB is doing a great job scouting and getting solid players for cheap
Agree. As a Steelers fan I thought you guys had the best chance to beat the Ravens. Whatever ppl think of Watson, he can put points on the board in the right offense. He will play well in 2024. You have your QB & the Steelers don’t so the Browns will be relevant.
@@thefilmlodgewhat makes you think that? We are not losing many players to free agency, just because Watson got a big contract doesn't mean that our depth won't return this year. Many of them are on rookie contracts and only like depth pieces are leaving.
@stevesherman1743 if you actually look at the cap most of it doesn't hit until the last 2 years of his contract and we still have a decent amount of money
The one thing that should never be said of the architect of the worst trade in the history of Professional Sports is “A.B. is doing a great job” ….🤦♂️🤡😳
I have a lifelong love affair with my Brownies....but this is 100% true. The guy, along with being done as a football player, is a gigantic scumbag piece of corny turd.
@@japex12346 no? He ended up settling most of the civil suits of court. Meaning it never came to a conclusion on either end. If this dude wasnt good at throwing footballs, you'd not be giving him any sense of benefit of the doubt.
Nope. Thats what makes Cleveland, Cleveland. Every game, every seat will be booked & filled. That's what we do. & IDK what this video is talking about, i saw how good Deshaun can be, and the consistency is what was not good. Thats why the game-plan is changing to Deshaun's strength's. Different schemes, different game plan, different coach's.
He isn't done with his contract yet, he may turn out to be an outstanding player for the Browns. Don't give up on him just yet. 3 of the 5 QB's who have signed those huge contracts, haven't lived up to the hype. Watson, Russell Wilson and Kyler Murray, so Watson isn't alone in this. I know Pat Mahomes signed a huge contract and Lamar Jackson I think has as well, but they are on a couple of really good teams that have a chance to go all the way and win a Super Bowl each and every season.
Not sure Watson is the worst move in Browns history. Remember, Art Modell basically forced Jim Brown to retire if he wanted to finish filming the movie "The Dirty Dozen". He also moved the team to Baltimore one year after signing Andre Rison to the biggest WR contract in NFL history, which turned out to be a huge mistake as well. Modell was also responsible for cutting Bernie Kosar and helping the Dolphins go to three straight Super Bowls (winning two) by sending them Paul Warfield for what turned out to be QB Mike Phipps ... who may have been worse in his time with Cleveland than Watson has been. I would say the biggest difference in all of these moves is that Watson still has a chance to turn things around. Whether he can do that or not ... I just don't know.
The Browns took on some really bad Karma when they let that dog into their house. You just can't have good things happen to you with that kind of Karma imbalance. The universe will not allow it.
@@londarousey8767 you hate Big Ben too? What about Josh giddy? Again do you hate the women who lied on Watson or the woman who had her own SON lying? (You can look it up?)
The Deshaun Watson contract will go down as one of the worst busts in NFL history. Instead of keeping Baker Mayfield or just drafting another good QB to compete with him for the future, the Browns took a gamble with a QB with a solidified criminal record and flopped.
It was baffling to me that they allowed themselves to played by watsons agent so expertly...all he had to say was "Cleveland is out the running" and they panicked. Yiur front office made a ridiculous error...yeah you kick the tires on watson sure. You don't alert the media to it though dayum! Or allow the media to be alerted. Common sense.
It was a stupid gamble, executed idiotically. Granted Baker probably wouldn't be the player he is today without the Browns doing him so ridiculously dirty. But still, they basically yolo'd their competitiveness for the next 5 years on a single player. And then gave that player literally the dumbest possible contract. The exposed themselves to tremendous risk for what was at best, going to be a marginal improvement at the QB position. To assume that he would be the same on the Browns as he was on the Texans ignores like 30 years of Browns QB history. Their are so many other ways to potentially spend that 230 million. Which have dramatically better outcomes for the competitiveness of the Browns. it was incredibly shortsighted and frankly unnecessary in the first place.
LUCKY nobody knows it cuck fit Baker. Playing in the worst v division in football. Cause he DAMN SURE NOT BEATING THE RAVENS WITH SHOULDER ISSUES. smart ass
The Browns didn't lose their playoff game by throwing two pick six, we lost because we couldn't stop Texans offense and were forced to throw for two pick six. Poor game plan and execution all around. And anyone who loosely follows the Browns will tell you we won't cut Chubb. The cap situation is not bad as you think, in fact all the things you mentioned are not as bad as Bill Callahan leaving us. I'm not sure whether Watson will ball out, but the Browns will be fine. If you think a team played four QBs had 1/3 their cap on IR and still made the playoffs in the toughest division is in a bad spot roster wise, you are tripping
This guy has brain dead takes 😂. We beat the ravens with watson putting up 33 points before he got hurt. Browns cap will be fine once contracts restructure and we may even bring in tee higgins
You were fortunate...not good, and you were lucky, not excellent. Also what "texans offense" are you even talking about? You could stop ONE MAN...with almost NO OFFENSE around him, C J.Stroud. we couldn't either, but don't sit here and act like you faced some vastly superior unit. The browns defense by all rights should have far outmatched the Texans, offense as well. We actually won a superbowl...and we were fortunate, not good...blessed, not excellent 😉
Let me tell you, those b2b pick sixes were absolutely not what lost us that game. What lost is that game was our defensive meltdown in the first half, making a game managing joe Flacco need to attempt to play hero ball. Those pick sixes don’t happen if our defense is even close to competent that first half
We were only down by 10 and just got a defensive stop before he threw the first pick 6, when we were already in field goal range. Obviously the defense didn’t help much up to that point, but they weren’t in a position where he needed to play hero ball until after he threw the first pick 6
Your wrong it went from two possession with the ball to 4 possession in a few mins. Defense was not the issue they were holding they're own for the most part but the offense was under producing. Once they game was clearly lost everyone stopped caring
@@domlorenz8324 defense wasn’t the issue? Are you kidding me? They performed abysmally compared to their normal levels. The only reason we were even in the playoffs was because we, byfar, had the best defense in the NFL. Our offense was keeping pace for a bit, but the defense continued to blunder points. On 6 drives houston scored 24 points. In the first half. That ration, 4 points per drive given up, would quite literally make us the worst defense in the NFL. Our offense was already bad, and we have known flacco wouldnt win us the game if needed. He needed the rest of the team to perform so he can follow stefanskis plays and system. Our offense had 0 room to keep up, because they weren’t our strength anyways. We lost control of the game before the 2 pick sixes ever happened
The Browns were already diwn double digits before the back to back pick sixes. Their defense was being shredded, and the coach opted for a more aggressive attack plan, which unfortunately failed.
being unbiased, deshaun’s situation and the outcome of missing practically a whole 2 seasons really set them back. i think realistically if deshaun returns to his texans form they can really do damage, and this team really does have the talent to contend, it just has to be firing on all cylinders next season, oh and everyone being healthy
No team ever plays with everyone healthy so stop that nonsense FACT you guys don’t have enough money to field a complete team let alone quality backups
You lose credibility when you say that Cooper had 6 games with 40 or less yards but don't mention he had PJ Walker and DTR at QB for a handful of those games.
I find your take on amari cooper to be horrible. Many great contenders like the chiefs and the ravens would kill to have an elite weapon like cooper. And to your comment about deshaun not once putting the team on his back for a win, I’d ask you to watch the second half of the ravens game in baltimore.
@@derfdessert773also its crazy how he said they can only beat good teams on a good day. They had pj walker when they beat the niners. Pj walker was an xfl qb who was unsigned until september.
They're also rolling over $30 million from this year. I love these discussions on cap shit when none of you even understand the cap. None of us do; that's why you bring in someone like DePodesta--who helped invent the moneyball strategy to get max talent production for cheaper than market value. They do so much moving of the $$ that yall worried about absolutely nothing. Also...why yall worried about mfs $$$? You're not paying a single dime, so...quit spending other people's money and just enjoy the team. Or be honest that this is just a video to bash Watson and name it that
@@draimonshepherd1791 bc cap space exists in the nfl lmao, and I didn’t even mention their cap space in 2024, so that rollover ain’t gonna help for 2025 and 2026.
10 years from now we may still be debating which was the worst move: Watson, Wilson, or Rodgers. Each have cost mountains of draft capital and cap space and essentially contributed nothing to date.
Also what the Browns and the Texans fans will be doing in 10 years is? WONDERING IF OR WHEN THEY WILL EVER WIN A SUPER BOWL. UNTIL THEN STICK WITH YOUR OLD SAYING. WE WILL GET EM NEXT YEAR. 🤣 LET ME GIVE YOU A CLUE NEXT YEAR IS LIKE TOMORROW. IT NEVER COMES. See you Next year LOSER'S 😅
Because it's a hell of a risk taking anyone who has sat out an entire year and has a pile of legal issues. It has to do with risk-reward potential, and how much you pay for it. Deshawn was worth a small contract risk; the Browns bet the future of their organization and now they'll have to pay the piper.
@@nw4042 exactly. Their evaluation of the player and what level of performance they could get out of him was flawed, and has proven to be extremely wrong. And the contract that they gave him would have been pretty terrible, even if through some miracle, he actually managed to perform at the level that they incorrectly assumed he would. There is also a MASSIVE difference between having a contract with a portion of the money guaranteed, and a contract with 100% of the money guaranteed. Not even the best QBs in the history of the game have gotten such a thing. It's unheard of, due to how obviously terrible, and extremely risky it is for any sport, much less one with the injury rates of the NFL. That's not even factoring in the actual odds of a QB performing at a level commensurate with that level of pay. Or the fact that generally these contracts are structured in such a way that the non-guaranteed money is there to provide significant incentives for the player to actually perform at or above the level the organization expects them to. That contract basically gambled the next 5 or so years of the Browns future as a team on essentially a single player. It meant that an huge portion of the teams cap space was tied up in that player, which has knock on effects on the teams ability to pay and retain other top talent. It also assumed that they would be able to get equivalent production out of a player performing at his absolute peak. Despite the fact he would be instead coming off of multiple years of not playing in the NFL, and with an entirely different team around him.
@@thefilmlodge Despite your attempt to minimize the effect of the Watson contract with word choice. You failed to provide even a single piece of actual evidence to justify your position. Stating "they will be fine" doesn't make the Watson trade any less terrible. And "oh stop", doesn't make it any less true that the Browns absolutely did bet at least 5 years of their team's/organization's future with that single trade. A trade which was very much a "big fking deal". But thanks for also reminding everyone that on top of the Browns giving Watson a ridiculous $230 Million, 100% guaranteed, contract. They also gave away 4 first-round draft picks in 2022, 2023, and 2024, as well as a 2022 fourth-round pick, a 2023 third-round pick and a 2024 fourth-round pick. Which, especially when combined with the $230 Million, would provide far more value to the Browns than what Deshaun Watson has. Even ignoring the cap space impact and lack of value the Browns have gotten from DeShaun Watson's absurd contract. Just the draft capital alone that they gave up would have been basically guaranteed to provide them with more value and exposed them to far less risk than than what the Watson trade did. Given the situation they were faced with before the season started, and then everything that actually happened with injures during the season, it's hard to really put into words the extent to which the Browns outperformed expectations and what the "on paper" situation would have suggested their record would be. It's certainly a credit to the coaches and players that they were able to overcome such adversity. But, that being said, it's a pity so much of that adversity was self inflicted.
Browns are a duality. Great core roster, good football people...Owner who thinks he's the smartest guy in the room, and the QB he is tied to. Watson is the NFL version of Typhoid Mary....and also, I love the Browns all white look. It's a nice change up and hits hard. I also like the basic, classic uniform too...it's iconic. I feel for their fans...miss the old AFC Central.
As a Steeler fan I know exactly what you're talking about. Who doesn't like the color SHIT BROWN. Sounds like you're an old Oilers now Texans fan? I almost peed my self laughing when you said you miss the old AFC north? What part about it do you miss. Missing or getting knocked out of the playoffs by the Steelers or playing in the snow? Moving to the AFC South was the best thing that ever happened to your franchise. 1 of the weakest if not top of the list weakest divisions IN THE NFL and you still can't DOMINATE! LMFAO 😂
My problem with bringing up expiring contracts is Browns GM has shown the ability to pay the right guys and cut bait with others. Cap still hasn’t been a problem with even with all the bonuses getting thrown around. Berry knows how to manage money.
We have a cash flush owner but lazy analysts like this guy can’t comprehend how we take advantage of the cap. Better TH-camrs have pointed this out time and time again.
@@TylerMcVeigh1 Cap he HEARD just like the media the browns just 6-7 other teams were talking to Watson he then dropped that letter “dear Cleveland” im from and live in Cleveland dawg I seen the whole situation first hand.
@@TylerMcVeigh1 Yes Mary Kay Cabot a long time browns beat reporter and others had reported that they went and talked too Watson and that’s when baker put the letter out. That’s when the browns went back and upped the numbers for Watson and he said yes to come. I do wish we got him cheaper but I don’t regret the deal. Will say if we can’t even get a full healthy season out of him with some success then even I gotta admit it was a failed trade but if you can get 1-3 good runs and a possible championship I think it’s worth it
I really dont think were in a bad situation, we have 34 mil in rollover which means we have 19 million in space this year (per bleacher report) you didnt even mention the rollover space, but most youtubers just want to hate on watson than mention this bc it weakens their argument. There going to restructure deals to add to that 19 mil too, Chubbs cap hit wont stick. They also dont have almost any signif free agents this offseason. Also thats flat out wrong what you said about there not being a game where watson carried the team. He carried the team on his back to beat baltimore completing 14 straight passes in the second half to beat one of the best teams in the nfl. There are several teams with much worse cap situations, the Browns really arent one of them, people just want to believe they are bc they dont like deshaun.
Honestly, from a brown fan view, I think you're making it a bigger problem than it is. The cap is more than likely going to be raised. I see them trading Jack Conklin to free up space rather chubb or Cooper. Dwand Jones is already playing at an elite level and will be a good replacement for Conklin. I hope we resign Elijah Moore, he had a decent season; with some more snap% I think he could be a good wr 3. My biggest worry is not our cap, the saints are in a far worse cap situation and arguably a worse qb situation. My worry is on our oline, bitonio and teller are ageing and are slowly regressing. I think both pocic and Jones can be starters, but wills is just a big question mark.
People think they know about to cap but failed to realize that you can manipulate the cap to still compete, they just want to shit on the Browns. Watson contract is the 9 highest qb contract now in the league but ppl care about someone else’s money
@@Boblib1970 I mean the saints done it for years and now the Browns are doing it. You’ll see how they’ll bring in talent from Free agency and trades once again by working around the cap but okay bro 🤷🏾♂️😂
@@Boblib1970 they have void years in Watsons contract that they can keep pushing his cap number down the line, 2 you can trade jack conklin for a 6th or 7th round pick for someone can take majority of his contract. 3 you could give Nick Chubb and or amari cooper an extension to free up money this year. Its many more ways they’ll clear cap, They are going to go all in every year they have Watson on the team bc they believe they can win with him.
I think with the great young promising depth we have thanks to our GM, we will have to cut ties with many vets like you mentioned and hope for the best. We have key players like JOK and Emerson we need to prioritize and extend in the future.
With what cap space? We have $63 mil locked into an average QB on the better end, and then we have really good players throughout the roster. We will be losing a lot of talent, I don’t see us being able to keep delpit who is vital to be the opposite of JOK
@@pohorex6834 we did just sign Delpit to an extension right before he got hurt though. You think we would cut ties early on the 3 yr contract? For much of the roster (even including Watson restructuring most likely) we will see a shakeup most likely with cooper first unfortunately just like with Landry not long ago.
@@mmsteve3 Watson cannot be restructured unless we sign him to an extension. If we do restructure him without an extension, we will be taking on likely over $90 mil in cap hit over the next 2 years which we will absolutely not be able to keep the talent we have. Only way we can restructure is if we fully plan to tank after 2024 and send into a full rebuild
@@pohorex6834 Rebuild or extend him till he retires to draw out the money are both not the best options. Only hope is for someone else to take it which definitely won’t happen sadly.
Your GM is an idiot. The trade for Watson will go down as one of the worst in NFL history. You should not be thanking him for anything. He's a total loser
Interesting QB situation. Reminds me of the Bill Parcells quote at the time of the recently instituted free agency: for some of these guys it's like winning the lottery. And what's the first thing you do when you win the lottery? Quit your job.
Agreed!!! 1 guy should be making top-tier qb money, and that's Mahomes. You could argue Josh Allen and Burrow deserve the upper echelon money too, but to see Daniel Jones, Justin Herbert Russell Wilson, Dak Prescott, Deshaun Watson and Jalen Hurts making anywhere near Mahomes money is absurd. Even Geno Smith, Derek Carr, Ryan Tannehill, and Jimmy G making big money is nuts to me.
@Ballaholic82 Herbert is a top 5 QB when healthy. Dude has the best arm in the league. I agree with your point in general just wanted to mention that.
I think the WRs stats has to have an asterisk, considering they had like 4 different QBs throwing to them in games. Amari’s season looks better considering games of PJ Walker, Dorian RT, and a washed Watson before Flacco came in.
@@FootballAnalysis1 considering more than half the league is in the negative in the cap and nothing happens to them, I’m gonna say the cap doesn’t really exists
The Browns will keep restructuring contracts and push money down the line… also still be able to gather talent through free agency(like they did last offseason) and trades. People just see Watson contract and wants to complain
Browns are dead men walking. The only hope for the team is for Deshaun to somehow return to his year 1-2 form which is looking less likely with each passing year.
He won’t return the same, he’s changed to a QB more focused on winning then putting up amazing stats, I don’t want Houston Watson to return. Cause when he was in Houston they had a terrible record.
If Cle gets the Watson from the 2nd half of the ravens game for most of next year they will be fine....i mean he was 5-1 b4 his injury . But that 1st Bengals game was horrible lmao
Naw, the other more responsible NFL franchises stepped in and put a quick Nix on all that cute stuff. Nobody else is handing out fully guaranteed contracts nor will they even discuss it.
@@gabrielmc456but 8 other QBs got contracts bigger than his? The QB market was going to 50 mill a year. The Browns saw that coming and paid deshaun before it happened. With or without the watson contract the market for franchise QBs would be 50 mill in 2024.
Man if they didn't have Watson I would be extremely scared on the Browns in the future. Imagine if they could sign Kirk Cousins or signed someone like Minshew for cheap and bolstered their receivers with Higgins/Evans/Pittman or even Hollywood Brown. I just can't imagine Watson leading the Browns to the Super Bowl in the year 2024...And even if he was able to, I can't imagine the NFL being thrilled about Watson as the face of SB LIX
Amari is a Beast ? Do you ever watch NFL film ? 😂😂😂 He’s on his 3rd team for a reason , when he’s in the mood to play he is a really good receiver. The problem is that he’s rarely in a good mood to play , he often is just going through the motions. He doesn’t consistently block , he only go half speed if he’s not getting the ball . I watched him play on the Raiders and Dallas- he’s too inconsistent to be a beast or a top 5 receiver
Nasty Man is morally bad. Therefore the Browns are bad at football. This channel jumped the gun on calling Watson a bust and now that narrative is influencing the analysis.
Watson has been a bust since become a Cleveland Brown. He has 14 passing touchdowns in 12 games for them. Is that worth $230M? No Also stated within the video was how much I love Nick Chubb, Joel Bitonio, Wyatt Teller, Cedric Tillman and Dawand Jones fwiw
One thing left unmentioned is wether Watson will ever be the same coming back from his shoulder injury. I know that he is expected to make a full recovery, but how will that injury affect his ability to throw? This is probably the biggest argument against fully guaranteed deals...the team takes 100% of the injury risk.
Browns will be fine. NFL cap isn’t real and teams find lots of ways to circumvent it. Still have a great OLine. Lots of injuries last year that are unlikely to happen again. Chubb is going to have a year like Adrian Peterson’s MVP season when he came back from the knee injury. Lots of fantastic young defensive players. Not saying they win the division but could still make the playoffs.
The hell ypu talking about.. yall division is still tough you talking tthis Burrow will get injured shit again like he ain't been leading his team too deep playoff runs.. Steelers are trash but Ravens and Bengals are gonna still be a probllem No yall division ain't getting weaker . Only in yo dreams @@cbjm36
@@cbjm36ok that second comment is just stupid, to say the Steelers will Magically finish below 500 after 17 years straight of not, and then to predict a career ending knee injury of a 27 year old is fantasy
I would say 14/14 135 yards and a touchdown in the 4th quarter on an almost completely shattered shoulder against the number one team in football is putting the team on his back... otherwise good video.
Just trying to be constructive here. I don't think anyone would be bothered by you dropping "and let's begin", and I get the feeling you want to. I've watched your channel grow from nothing to a success, and it's totally cool to change things and drop any schitck you tried in the early days. Love the videos, keep em coming.
To a point...you're kind fit your words of encouragement buy you know what that statement reminds me of ( OK Lets begin) Howard Cosell and Walter Cronkite. At their hearts these guys are journalists just like Cosell, Cosell just achieved more prominence due to the limitations of his medium. So to me the journalistic intro sounds cool. 🔥
There just seems to be no end to the stupidity that is acquiring Watson. I don't know who was stupid enough to give up 3 first rounders, with no provisions for the possibility of a lengthy suspension & paying him such big $, but they ought to be run out of town.
Watson literally went 14/14 in the second half against the ravens to overcome a two touchdown deficit while playing through a broken shoulder and high ankle sprain. That's literally putting the team on his back when they needed it most.
@@mudbutt5951naw, and I'll advised...takes heart to do it though, and guts. Before we start handing him out Nobel peace prizes though we should remember that he could actually afford to play with those injuries...cause his entire scrooge mcduck style fortune is 100% FULLY guaranteed.
@mudbutt5951 that's what a franchise QB does tho. Can lead the team downfield late in the 4th qtr and win the game. What deshaun did in that game shows exactly the type of player he is. The haters refuse to recognize how impressive that was.
To me last year at least, the raiders and the browns were in a very similar situation. They both had great rosters with good to amazing defenses at times. But they were a quarterback away from being real contenders.
The Browns being the Browns. The Texans were desperate to unload Watson and no other team was bidding against the Browns for Watson. Why they gave Watson the huge guaranteed contract only the Browns know. Their only hope now is to draft a QB in the 2nd round, maybe Nix, Pennix, or Rattler
Geez… talk about selective memory. “No one was bidding against the browns for Watson”…that’s a total fabrication. We weren’t even the top contenders until last minute. Carolina, Seattle and NO were expected.
The saints have been getting through the cap for years with that crazy deal woth Michael thomas and even begore with Drew Brees. The cap can always be modified in some way. One player i wish u talked about was Jack conklin dude is getting paid waaaaay to much to play only 4 games a year
Hey Browns ... Texan fan here, we'll give you all our drafts picks this year for Myles Garret and Amri Cooper! That way you get a ton of cap space and a ton of picks to restack your team cheaply.
You realize have to feel for Browns fans (Niners fan here) because Jimmy Haslem is as big of an ass as Dan Snyder and signing Watson to a totally guaranteed contract proves it
Those pick sixes came late in the game when they had no choice but to take risks. They didn't cause the loss: they just made the loss look worse than it was. The Browns could also sign Watson to a completely new contract with most of it being a bonus that is paid up front and push the money on the new contract back.
The worst part of the Watson dilemma is that since his contract is fully guaranteed there's no point to cutting him. It makes matters worse for the immediate year as all remaining money vests, meaning any cuts would have to be extremely deep.
This guy is a great writer and wa-a-a-ay more thorough than most. Fans of the Browns can criticize his opinions all they want, but he's backing them with facts and logical conclusions, whereas the fans are emotionally mired. Money counts more than enthusiasm.
The overwhelming majority of football fans have a major lack of understanding about how the salary cap works. They hear the people warning of the salary cap catastrophe that's looming, but when Andrew Berry restructured DWs deal and created cap space last year, they saw that as proof that the naysayers and "haters" were wrong. But what they didn't realize is that it only delayed the inevitable and made it much worse when it does happen. And when they do it again this offseason, their reaction will be the same. The Browns are betting that Watson will be elite again and they will extend him for another 5 years. But they are gambling with a players who's been wildly inconsistent for two seasons and now has a surgically repaired throwing shoulder. And with each restructure, they are doubling down on that gamble. Simply put, without an extension, the Browns are running out of room to stuff that guaranteed money in. With another restructure this offseason, his cap hit could hit near $90M for the next two seasons. I predict that this is going to end very very badly.
@@bigredracingdog466 Tyrod Taylor and the bills off the top of my head in 2017. But what does that have to do with winning a playoff game lol. Also flacko won comeback player of the year so he wasn’t a scrub lol. Brown fans and excuses ..
@@bradlyfan I was talking about this season. 14 teams and only one of them had a backup QB. It's a pretty rare feat. Tyrod Taylor and the Bills lost in the first round in 2017 as you stated. Last year the Ravens went to the playoffs with Tyler Huntley because Lamar Jackson took them to 9-4 before he got hurt. They won only one game the rest of the way. They lost in the first round of the playoffs too. See a pattern here? Reasons, not excuses.
I think the video is fair. Unbiased and it’s his thoughts but it’s not insane too believe if you finally get a full season of Deshaun he can bounce back either. We still have yet too see it. At least a 14+ games played season.
ill say this, IF deshaun can return to even an above average starting level QB tier the browns situation is drastically different. they have a very good defense, a running game and seem to be pretty good at drafting. it wouldnt shock me if the browns won 11-12 games next season assuming Chubb is healthy
It is extremely satisfying to see an organization almost immediately start suffering the consequences for one of the worst decisions in modern NFL history
The Browns’ trade for Watson BUILT the Texans’ playoff roster. It is now officially worse than the legendary Herschel Walker deal that built the Cowboys dynasty.
I think the browns realized a qb does not always make a good team. You have a very small chance of getting a mahomes, Brady, or purdy if he’s the real deal as it looks like. But teams win championships anyways with a great team and a qb that operates within that teams abilities. The best example is Mathew stafford winning it with a great rams team a few years ago. With the lions he wasn’t even making the playoffs but put him on a great team and it’s a Super Bowl. The browns, for some reason, thought Watson was around the class of mahomes, but we now know it’s far from the case. The issue is the browns owe him mahomes type money which will make a pretty good browns team have to lose pretty good players. They swung and missed and now it’s going to be a long rebuild. They should have kept building the browns into a great team with picks and fa signings, and then once that happened sign a qb that’s fit that style to a cheap contract. Maybe it was a Flacco or someone else like cj shroud if we kept our picks and moved up. Instead we are here and it’s not a good place.
Tell me that you don't understand how the salary cap works without saying "I don't know how the salary cap works." He addresses restructures in the video. There's only so much they can do without restructuring Watson, which could be a cataclysmic mistake.
Deshaun won’t be Texans Deshaun, he said it in a press conference that he has improved. For him as we saw in Houston they didn’t win many games, he put up good stats but didn’t win games, so now for him it’s more of a just win games mindset, not put up a bunch of amazing stats. He went 5-1 what else could you want?
The Browns didn't revord a single sack in that Houston game. They allowed Houston to easily score touchdowns after Cleveland took the lead twice in the first half. That game was disappointing on so many levels.
Thank you for making this video. Because of the fully guaranteed deal, I've been saying since the day that it was announced that this was going to be catastrophically bad for the Browns if he didn't become an elite QB again. I've tried to explain this to Browns fans, but they don't understand. They point to last years restructure as evidence that Browns management knows what they are doing without realizing that the restructure just made it worse and that there is no way out of it. Unfortunately, most people simply don't understand how the salary cap works.
I think it may be you who doesn't understand because the Browns can restructure it again for this year. They can add void years or other things. Im sure you know a lot about the cap but not as much as Andrew Berry.
@@japex12346 Do you know how void years work, because I do. Firstly, they can only add 1 void year with a restructure this spring. The rule is that the max number of void years is 5 minus the year of the contract that the player is on. 3rd in Watsons case. So 5-3 equals 2...but they already added a void year last year, so they can add 1 with a restructure this offseason. Regarding void years...yes, you can put money in those years, but when you get towards the end, or the actual end of the original contract...2026 in Watsons case (void years dont count)...you have two choices. 1) Do a contract extension or 2) Allow the player to play out the contract and let it expire and the player becomes a FA. If you do option 1, the salary cap accountability of the signing bonus of the extension is spread out evenly over the life of the new contract (just as it is with the original comtract), but the cap number for the void years is added to that number. Example: Watson signs a 5 year extension with a $200M signing bonus. That counts $40M a year from 2027 to 2031 to the cap. Now, lets say that the Browns through restructures before the extension, added 3 void years, each with $15M in cap charges that were pushed back during those restructures. The cap hit would be $55M for the years 2027, 2028, and 2029...the first 3 years of the extension...before falling back to $40M for the last two. And that's not counting the players actual salary for each year. Those numbers, 55 and 40, will be even higher when accounting for the salary for each season. If you do option 2 and let the player play out the contract and become a FA, then all cap charges in void years are added together and accelerated forward and charged to the current year, 2027 in Watsons case. Using example 1, the Browns would then have a $45M dead cap hit in 2027 while Watson is QB'ing for another team. Obviously, option 1 is what the Browns are counting on and absolutely what they planned for when they gave him the fully guaranteed contract. They assumed that he'd be the QB he was in Houston and they'd have a top 5-8 QB on their roster. So far, he's no where close. If Watson continues to struggle and underperform, they're in a real bind. Do you bite the bullet and live with a $64M cap hit for the next 3 years which will inhibit their ability to sign and keep key players? Or do they keep restructuring and pushing cap money back, hoping that he'll come around and be elite again so that they can give him that extension? The problem is, if he doesn't then the cap situation will get really really ugly, Or do they keep throwing good money after bad and extend a mediocre QB another 5 years just for cap relief? The problem here is that he will be severely underperforming for the amount of cap space he's using. And that's not to mention that the Browns would have absolutely ZERO leverage in this situation and Watson could milk them for millions more. This is why fully guaranteed contracts are a disaster waiting to happen. And why we will never see another one of this magnitude again. (Kurt Cousins took less fully guaranteed money and only a 3 year contract).
@@japex12346Restructuring Watson's contract just pushes the problem into the years remaining on it. Keep doing that and the cap hit in the final year is going to be enormous.
They could trade Conklin for cap space. The roster is better than you think, they don't need to bring in much beyond a wr, rb, and a backup qb. And you discredit Amari but aside from the dtr game and his big injuries he played well. The home vrs road results on the defense is the most concerning element. Lastly how do you question what this team can do when they beat the upper echelon of the nfl?
Browns cap situation is perfectly fine, with contract restructures they can end up with over 30 million in cap space. Berry is a cap wizard and has consistently spent over the cap every year as the Browns GM. Browns can pick up more weapons in free agency and the draft. They also have multiple new offensive minds to help Watson, including Dorsey who coached both Josh Allen and Cam Newton. Watson stats had they been for a whole season would have been good enough to be in the pro bowl and arguably in the MVP race so I think he will be just fine.
Cheesehead from Houston here. We were preetty excited by Watson but when he went toxic with the happy ending massage routine, its like he forgot what is important. I don't think he will ever have another year near what he had in Houston, certainly not a year that will come close to justiofying his salary. My guess is the Browns will have 3-5 mediocre years of suffering thru cap space hell, before they right their ship.
Remember when the browns won in the playoffs? Then they got rid of that quarter back for a guy who hasn't played a full season in years and paid out the ass. And then the other quarter back won another playoff game for another team. Good ol browns
We got Ken Dorsey to fix the offense and have it revolve around Deshaun as a browns fan I don’t have any concerns besides health
You people act like Baker would’ve won a Super Bowl in Cleveland. He’s hit his ceiling. He’s largely replaceable.
@@cbjm36 But they wouldn't have had to pay him as much as an elite QB and could build the rest of the roster. Now they payed a worst dude elite QB money and are screwed lol
@@King_Immanuel you can build a roster however much you want. If you’ve got Baker Mayfield at QB you ain’t winning a Super Bowl. I’ll still take the potential (no matter how little it is now) that Deshaun goes back to his Houston days over Baker
@@cbjm36you got deshawn and you still ain't winning a Superbowl
The Watson signing will go down as one of the most stupid moves in NFL history.
Totally agreed. They paid too much and got very little in return. They should have kept Baker and now that money could have been used to get some really good players.
As a Houstonian and a Texan fan, I thank the Browns for taking the loser off our team!
@@luiscavazos4762As a Texans fan you should be more worried about The Texans giving it hotel rooms an NDA documents to a guy worth 200 million. Ooh yeah they paid the 304's as well. Watson got to the playoffs BITCH
@@luiscavazos4762Don't forget sexual predator!
@@luiscavazos4762 that loser took your team to the playoffs with a shitty defense
“We’re gonna break down why theyre in a bad situation”
Still frame of Deshaun
Doing baker like that was so disrespectful im so glad he in tampa and revived his career
Not me I'm a saints fan ! 😂 just kidding always like baker and he's always fun to play against.
The short chubby guy with the Napoleon complex ?
Meh, let's see how he looks next year
@@robertocalderon1584What u think about Carr? I’m a Raiders fan.
@@AglassOfWater_55555 I dont like him as a saints fan. I was optimistic at first with gruden being on our staff but that didnt seem to help. Carr does have a run game like he had in vegas to rely on and our offensive line is shaky and he is the worst qb in the leauge under pressure so it was spelling disaster for us the whole time
As a Browns fan, one thing I learned about the 2023 season is that we have great depth players. AB is doing a great job scouting and getting solid players for cheap
Agree. As a Steelers fan I thought you guys had the best chance to beat the Ravens. Whatever ppl think of Watson, he can put points on the board in the right offense. He will play well in 2024. You have your QB & the Steelers don’t so the Browns will be relevant.
@@thefilmlodgewhat makes you think that? We are not losing many players to free agency, just because Watson got a big contract doesn't mean that our depth won't return this year. Many of them are on rookie contracts and only like depth pieces are leaving.
@@supremetr0ut954 Ummm, Deshaun Watson’s salary and cap hit.
@stevesherman1743 if you actually look at the cap most of it doesn't hit until the last 2 years of his contract and we still have a decent amount of money
The one thing that should never be said of the architect of the worst trade in the history of Professional Sports is “A.B. is doing a great job” ….🤦♂️🤡😳
When you trade for someone as despicable as Watson, you deserve whatever bad things come your way.
I have a lifelong love affair with my Brownies....but this is 100% true. The guy, along with being done as a football player, is a gigantic scumbag piece of corny turd.
Seems like the lockeroom ran baker 🧑🍳 out cuz they wanted a brotha playing qb.
@@chevy4x466 No I think upper management did. Time to replace a whole bunch of that group.
What did Watson do that was despicable? Be found innocent?
@@japex12346 no? He ended up settling most of the civil suits of court. Meaning it never came to a conclusion on either end.
If this dude wasnt good at throwing footballs, you'd not be giving him any sense of benefit of the doubt.
Bluntly speaking, Groper Cleveland is a reason most fans will resume despising the franchise again next year and will cheer on every failure he has.
Get a life.
He's not wrong, literally cannot root for this team when that dude is under center
"Groper Cleveland"🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@garyvorhees73Get a life is what Browns fans will have to during playoff time
Nope. Thats what makes Cleveland, Cleveland. Every game, every seat will be booked & filled. That's what we do. & IDK what this video is talking about, i saw how good Deshaun can be, and the consistency is what was not good. Thats why the game-plan is changing to Deshaun's strength's. Different schemes, different game plan, different coach's.
Deshawn Watson was the worst move in Browns history, and that is saying something
The trading of Paul Warfield is also up there near the top.
He isn't done with his contract yet, he may turn out to be an outstanding player for the Browns. Don't give up on him just yet. 3 of the 5 QB's who have signed those huge contracts, haven't lived up to the hype. Watson, Russell Wilson and Kyler Murray, so Watson isn't alone in this. I know Pat Mahomes signed a huge contract and Lamar Jackson I think has as well, but they are on a couple of really good teams that have a chance to go all the way and win a Super Bowl each and every season.
Not sure Watson is the worst move in Browns history. Remember, Art Modell basically forced Jim Brown to retire if he wanted to finish filming the movie "The Dirty Dozen". He also moved the team to Baltimore one year after signing Andre Rison to the biggest WR contract in NFL history, which turned out to be a huge mistake as well. Modell was also responsible for cutting Bernie Kosar and helping the Dolphins go to three straight Super Bowls (winning two) by sending them Paul Warfield for what turned out to be QB Mike Phipps ... who may have been worse in his time with Cleveland than Watson has been. I would say the biggest difference in all of these moves is that Watson still has a chance to turn things around. Whether he can do that or not ... I just don't know.
Deshaun Watson is a creep
The Browns took on some really bad Karma when they let that dog into their house. You just can't have good things happen to you with that kind of Karma imbalance. The universe will not allow it.
Your a creep, STOP TALKING ABOUT IT!
The chicks who had returned, the chick who had her kids lying (look it up) are they creeps too?
@@onlyonezay419stop defending him I hate the browns fanbase fross
@@londarousey8767 you hate Big Ben too? What about Josh giddy? Again do you hate the women who lied on Watson or the woman who had her own SON lying? (You can look it up?)
Thank you, Cleveland!
Sincerely, Houston 😂
Houston paid millions in damages just like Watson...
LMFAO. Tamp Bay thanks them too!
Damn, the Browns got screwed on 2 fronts. ☹
@@troyb.4101 What has Tampa done?
No problem, you think when your front office screws over Stroud and he asks for a trade the same thing will happen?
The Deshaun Watson contract will go down as one of the worst busts in NFL history.
Instead of keeping Baker Mayfield or just drafting another good QB to compete with him for the future, the Browns took a gamble with a QB with a solidified criminal record and flopped.
It was baffling to me that they allowed themselves to played by watsons agent so expertly...all he had to say was "Cleveland is out the running" and they panicked. Yiur front office made a ridiculous error...yeah you kick the tires on watson sure. You don't alert the media to it though dayum! Or allow the media to be alerted. Common sense.
It was a stupid gamble, executed idiotically. Granted Baker probably wouldn't be the player he is today without the Browns doing him so ridiculously dirty. But still, they basically yolo'd their competitiveness for the next 5 years on a single player. And then gave that player literally the dumbest possible contract. The exposed themselves to tremendous risk for what was at best, going to be a marginal improvement at the QB position.
To assume that he would be the same on the Browns as he was on the Texans ignores like 30 years of Browns QB history. Their are so many other ways to potentially spend that 230 million. Which have dramatically better outcomes for the competitiveness of the Browns. it was incredibly shortsighted and frankly unnecessary in the first place.
Exactly
And baker actually did something for them and is worth his contract way more than Watson is
LUCKY nobody knows it cuck fit Baker. Playing in the worst v division in football. Cause he DAMN SURE NOT BEATING THE RAVENS WITH SHOULDER ISSUES. smart ass
Instead of keeping mid they traded for a difference maker wow shame on the Browns
The Browns didn't lose their playoff game by throwing two pick six, we lost because we couldn't stop Texans offense and were forced to throw for two pick six. Poor game plan and execution all around. And anyone who loosely follows the Browns will tell you we won't cut Chubb. The cap situation is not bad as you think, in fact all the things you mentioned are not as bad as Bill Callahan leaving us. I'm not sure whether Watson will ball out, but the Browns will be fine. If you think a team played four QBs had 1/3 their cap on IR and still made the playoffs in the toughest division is in a bad spot roster wise, you are tripping
This guy has brain dead takes 😂. We beat the ravens with watson putting up 33 points before he got hurt. Browns cap will be fine once contracts restructure and we may even bring in tee higgins
You were fortunate...not good, and you were lucky, not excellent. Also what "texans offense" are you even talking about? You could stop ONE MAN...with almost NO OFFENSE around him, C J.Stroud. we couldn't either, but don't sit here and act like you faced some vastly superior unit. The browns defense by all rights should have far outmatched the Texans, offense as well. We actually won a superbowl...and we were fortunate, not good...blessed, not excellent 😉
@@robertocalderon1584tf are u talkin bout
Jerome Ford n the backfield. DUMP CHUBB !!!!!!!!!
@@onetime3137 nah, if Chubb can't return to form Ford ain't it
I shouldn't feel bad for a team that sacrifice everything to get a predator and paying him a ton of money only to play like garbage I'm just not 💯
two grand juries found any credible evidence to charge him. Not one, TWO. But clearly you are better! Clown lol
It’s for everyone to admit the Texans fleeced the Browns.
Bait, Hook, line and sinker........ They got a generational talent and an organization trending up.
Don't feel too proud. Jimmy Haaslam is just senile.
Really isn't time yet, Texans didn't really do shit with the picks from the Browns
@@japex12346 Will Anderson's pretty damn good. Other than that though, yeah not much
@@georgebarsan5890 technically will wasn’t picked with the browns pick, it was used along with some of the Texans picks to trade up
Nick Chubb’s came back from scary injuries before, I think he’ll still be a dawg
You just never know with RBs, wish him the best but I've seen it go both ways and everything in between ( coming back but not being as good etc.)
We will see
I hope you’re right
Adrian Peterson had his MVP year coming off an acl and mcl. Chubb ain’t AP but he could be anywhere from cooked to even better.
@@SirZebra3the reason its extra scary for chubb though is that is his 2md serious injury on that knee
When he said Deshaun hasn't put the team on his back I instantly thought of Greg Jennings 🤣🤣🤣
Apparently the Ravens game didn’t happen
The factory of sadness always disappoints
I'm a bears guy and I'm like WOW
The Clowns are always good for a laugh
@@NAT-turners-Revengeyeah as lions fan I'm like dang glad my lions are figuring it out right now we could be those guys 🫡
I never knew your life was that sad
@@brianjonker510🤣🤣
Talking about Groper Cleveland again lol 😂
Ah a Five Points reference. Man of culture you are!
Let me tell you, those b2b pick sixes were absolutely not what lost us that game. What lost is that game was our defensive meltdown in the first half, making a game managing joe Flacco need to attempt to play hero ball. Those pick sixes don’t happen if our defense is even close to competent that first half
Similar to the Cowgirls!
We were only down by 10 and just got a defensive stop before he threw the first pick 6, when we were already in field goal range. Obviously the defense didn’t help much up to that point, but they weren’t in a position where he needed to play hero ball until after he threw the first pick 6
Your wrong it went from two possession with the ball to 4 possession in a few mins. Defense was not the issue they were holding they're own for the most part but the offense was under producing. Once they game was clearly lost everyone stopped caring
@nadz_OG exactly the OP has no clue what he's talking about 😂😂😂
@@domlorenz8324 defense wasn’t the issue? Are you kidding me? They performed abysmally compared to their normal levels. The only reason we were even in the playoffs was because we, byfar, had the best defense in the NFL. Our offense was keeping pace for a bit, but the defense continued to blunder points. On 6 drives houston scored 24 points. In the first half. That ration, 4 points per drive given up, would quite literally make us the worst defense in the NFL. Our offense was already bad, and we have known flacco wouldnt win us the game if needed. He needed the rest of the team to perform so he can follow stefanskis plays and system. Our offense had 0 room to keep up, because they weren’t our strength anyways. We lost control of the game before the 2 pick sixes ever happened
The Browns were already diwn double digits before the back to back pick sixes. Their defense was being shredded, and the coach opted for a more aggressive attack plan, which unfortunately failed.
being unbiased, deshaun’s situation and the outcome of missing practically a whole 2 seasons really set them back. i think realistically if deshaun returns to his texans form they can really do damage, and this team really does have the talent to contend, it just has to be firing on all cylinders next season, oh and everyone being healthy
Never going to happen
Honestly he’s played well in the games he’s played. He just has to stay healthy which is a big question mark
No team ever plays with everyone healthy so stop that nonsense FACT you guys don’t have enough money to field a complete team let alone quality backups
You lose credibility when you say that Cooper had 6 games with 40 or less yards but don't mention he had PJ Walker and DTR at QB for a handful of those games.
Complete cherry picked hit job. Shitty and lazy video
Can you do this with every NFL teams?
I find your take on amari cooper to be horrible. Many great contenders like the chiefs and the ravens would kill to have an elite weapon like cooper. And to your comment about deshaun not once putting the team on his back for a win, I’d ask you to watch the second half of the ravens game in baltimore.
Yes. He whiffed on both of those comments.
The game in Baltimore i would say was him putting the team on his back
People like to ignore facts about DW because they do not like him. I think the dudes a creep but I’m not going to lie to anyone to set narrative.
@@derfdessert773also its crazy how he said they can only beat good teams on a good day. They had pj walker when they beat the niners. Pj walker was an xfl qb who was unsigned until september.
Cooper was very consistent. The QB carousel is the reason he looked inconsistent.
Browns also have 20M in cap space with 33 players on the roster in 2025 and 38M in cap space in 2026 with 23 players on the roster…. It’s not good
They're also rolling over $30 million from this year. I love these discussions on cap shit when none of you even understand the cap. None of us do; that's why you bring in someone like DePodesta--who helped invent the moneyball strategy to get max talent production for cheaper than market value.
They do so much moving of the $$ that yall worried about absolutely nothing.
Also...why yall worried about mfs $$$? You're not paying a single dime, so...quit spending other people's money and just enjoy the team. Or be honest that this is just a video to bash Watson and name it that
@@draimonshepherd1791 bc cap space exists in the nfl lmao, and I didn’t even mention their cap space in 2024, so that rollover ain’t gonna help for 2025 and 2026.
@@draimonshepherd1791this is the most cope comment I've seen in all of 2024 so far. Congrats 😂
@HermsWorldWide nah...just be honest. Listen, whining about cap $ is pointless and naive
@@draimonshepherd1791won’t you save us all some time and let us know what we can talk about.
10 years from now we may still be debating which was the worst move: Watson, Wilson, or Rodgers. Each have cost mountains of draft capital and cap space and essentially contributed nothing to date.
Also what the Browns and the Texans fans will be doing in 10 years is? WONDERING IF OR WHEN THEY WILL EVER WIN A SUPER BOWL. UNTIL THEN STICK WITH YOUR OLD SAYING. WE WILL GET EM NEXT YEAR. 🤣 LET ME GIVE YOU A CLUE NEXT YEAR IS LIKE TOMORROW. IT NEVER COMES. See you Next year LOSER'S 😅
That Deshaun Watson move was so so so stupid. how they thought that was ever a good idea is beyond me. They got finessed so ridiculously hard.
Because it's a hell of a risk taking anyone who has sat out an entire year and has a pile of legal issues.
It has to do with risk-reward potential, and how much you pay for it. Deshawn was worth a small contract risk; the Browns bet the future of their organization and now they'll have to pay the piper.
@@nw4042 exactly. Their evaluation of the player and what level of performance they could get out of him was flawed, and has proven to be extremely wrong. And the contract that they gave him would have been pretty terrible, even if through some miracle, he actually managed to perform at the level that they incorrectly assumed he would.
There is also a MASSIVE difference between having a contract with a portion of the money guaranteed, and a contract with 100% of the money guaranteed. Not even the best QBs in the history of the game have gotten such a thing.
It's unheard of, due to how obviously terrible, and extremely risky it is for any sport, much less one with the injury rates of the NFL. That's not even factoring in the actual odds of a QB performing at a level commensurate with that level of pay. Or the fact that generally these contracts are structured in such a way that the non-guaranteed money is there to provide significant incentives for the player to actually perform at or above the level the organization expects them to.
That contract basically gambled the next 5 or so years of the Browns future as a team on essentially a single player. It meant that an huge portion of the teams cap space was tied up in that player, which has knock on effects on the teams ability to pay and retain other top talent. It also assumed that they would be able to get equivalent production out of a player performing at his absolute peak. Despite the fact he would be instead coming off of multiple years of not playing in the NFL, and with an entirely different team around him.
@@thefilmlodge Despite your attempt to minimize the effect of the Watson contract with word choice. You failed to provide even a single piece of actual evidence to justify your position. Stating "they will be fine" doesn't make the Watson trade any less terrible. And "oh stop", doesn't make it any less true that the Browns absolutely did bet at least 5 years of their team's/organization's future with that single trade. A trade which was very much a "big fking deal".
But thanks for also reminding everyone that on top of the Browns giving Watson a ridiculous $230 Million, 100% guaranteed, contract. They also gave away 4 first-round draft picks in 2022, 2023, and 2024, as well as a 2022 fourth-round pick, a 2023 third-round pick and a 2024 fourth-round pick. Which, especially when combined with the $230 Million, would provide far more value to the Browns than what Deshaun Watson has.
Even ignoring the cap space impact and lack of value the Browns have gotten from DeShaun Watson's absurd contract. Just the draft capital alone that they gave up would have been basically guaranteed to provide them with more value and exposed them to far less risk than than what the Watson trade did.
Given the situation they were faced with before the season started, and then everything that actually happened with injures during the season, it's hard to really put into words the extent to which the Browns outperformed expectations and what the "on paper" situation would have suggested their record would be. It's certainly a credit to the coaches and players that they were able to overcome such adversity. But, that being said, it's a pity so much of that adversity was self inflicted.
Browns are a duality. Great core roster, good football people...Owner who thinks he's the smartest guy in the room, and the QB he is tied to. Watson is the NFL version of Typhoid Mary....and also, I love the Browns all white look. It's a nice change up and hits hard. I also like the basic, classic uniform too...it's iconic. I feel for their fans...miss the old AFC Central.
As a Steeler fan I know exactly what you're talking about. Who doesn't like the color SHIT BROWN. Sounds like you're an old Oilers now Texans fan? I almost peed my self laughing when you said you miss the old AFC north? What part about it do you miss. Missing or getting knocked out of the playoffs by the Steelers or playing in the snow? Moving to the AFC South was the best thing that ever happened to your franchise. 1 of the weakest if not top of the list weakest divisions IN THE NFL and you still can't DOMINATE! LMFAO 😂
My problem with bringing up expiring contracts is Browns GM has shown the ability to pay the right guys and cut bait with others. Cap still hasn’t been a problem with even with all the bonuses getting thrown around. Berry knows how to manage money.
We have a cash flush owner but lazy analysts like this guy can’t comprehend how we take advantage of the cap. Better TH-camrs have pointed this out time and time again.
Go Browns! Haters gonna hate. Watch on your couch while we smash your team next season!!!
This is karma for the Groper Cleveland trade. Never should have done Baker that dirty.
Nobody did baker dirty he asked too be traded before we even got Watson😂
@@onlyonezay419 He asked for a trade after the Browns made it publically known they were trading for Watson. What do you mean?
@@TylerMcVeigh1 Cap he HEARD just like the media the browns just 6-7 other teams were talking to Watson he then dropped that letter “dear Cleveland” im from and live in Cleveland dawg I seen the whole situation first hand.
@@onlyonezay419 So the Browns already made it publicly known they were looking into trading for Watson before Baker requested a trade?
@@TylerMcVeigh1 Yes Mary Kay Cabot a long time browns beat reporter and others had reported that they went and talked too Watson and that’s when baker put the letter out. That’s when the browns went back and upped the numbers for Watson and he said yes to come. I do wish we got him cheaper but I don’t regret the deal. Will say if we can’t even get a full healthy season out of him with some success then even I gotta admit it was a failed trade but if you can get 1-3 good runs and a possible championship I think it’s worth it
I really dont think were in a bad situation, we have 34 mil in rollover which means we have 19 million in space this year (per bleacher report) you didnt even mention the rollover space, but most youtubers just want to hate on watson than mention this bc it weakens their argument. There going to restructure deals to add to that 19 mil too, Chubbs cap hit wont stick. They also dont have almost any signif free agents this offseason. Also thats flat out wrong what you said about there not being a game where watson carried the team. He carried the team on his back to beat baltimore completing 14 straight passes in the second half to beat one of the best teams in the nfl. There are several teams with much worse cap situations, the Browns really arent one of them, people just want to believe they are bc they dont like deshaun.
💯
Honestly, from a brown fan view, I think you're making it a bigger problem than it is. The cap is more than likely going to be raised. I see them trading Jack Conklin to free up space rather chubb or Cooper. Dwand Jones is already playing at an elite level and will be a good replacement for Conklin. I hope we resign Elijah Moore, he had a decent season; with some more snap% I think he could be a good wr 3. My biggest worry is not our cap, the saints are in a far worse cap situation and arguably a worse qb situation. My worry is on our oline, bitonio and teller are ageing and are slowly regressing. I think both pocic and Jones can be starters, but wills is just a big question mark.
People think they know about to cap but failed to realize that you can manipulate the cap to still compete, they just want to shit on the Browns. Watson contract is the 9 highest qb contract now in the league but ppl care about someone else’s money
@@michaelmoore1758 You are a great example of 'people think they know about the cap' but don't.
@@Boblib1970 I mean the saints done it for years and now the Browns are doing it. You’ll see how they’ll bring in talent from Free agency and trades once again by working around the cap but okay bro 🤷🏾♂️😂
@@michaelmoore1758 And how are they going to work around the cap. Be specific...how are they going to do it?
@@Boblib1970 they have void years in Watsons contract that they can keep pushing his cap number down the line, 2 you can trade jack conklin for a 6th or 7th round pick for someone can take majority of his contract. 3 you could give Nick Chubb and or amari cooper an extension to free up money this year. Its many more ways they’ll clear cap, They are going to go all in every year they have Watson on the team bc they believe they can win with him.
It’s hilarious the same thing was said last year , ppl just don’t like Watson so they want so bad for the browns to fail but it hasn’t happened.
I think with the great young promising depth we have thanks to our GM, we will have to cut ties with many vets like you mentioned and hope for the best. We have key players like JOK and Emerson we need to prioritize and extend in the future.
With what cap space? We have $63 mil locked into an average QB on the better end, and then we have really good players throughout the roster. We will be losing a lot of talent, I don’t see us being able to keep delpit who is vital to be the opposite of JOK
@@pohorex6834 we did just sign Delpit to an extension right before he got hurt though. You think we would cut ties early on the 3 yr contract? For much of the roster (even including Watson restructuring most likely) we will see a shakeup most likely with cooper first unfortunately just like with Landry not long ago.
@@mmsteve3 Watson cannot be restructured unless we sign him to an extension. If we do restructure him without an extension, we will be taking on likely over $90 mil in cap hit over the next 2 years which we will absolutely not be able to keep the talent we have. Only way we can restructure is if we fully plan to tank after 2024 and send into a full rebuild
@@pohorex6834 Rebuild or extend him till he retires to draw out the money are both not the best options. Only hope is for someone else to take it which definitely won’t happen sadly.
Your GM is an idiot. The trade for Watson will go down as one of the worst in NFL history. You should not be thanking him for anything. He's a total loser
Interesting QB situation. Reminds me of the Bill Parcells quote at the time of the recently instituted free agency: for some of these guys it's like winning the lottery. And what's the first thing you do when you win the lottery? Quit your job.
The QB market needs a *HARD RESET* do a video on how and why in this current market
Agreed!!! 1 guy should be making top-tier qb money, and that's Mahomes. You could argue Josh Allen and Burrow deserve the upper echelon money too, but to see Daniel Jones, Justin Herbert Russell Wilson, Dak Prescott, Deshaun Watson and Jalen Hurts making anywhere near Mahomes money is absurd. Even Geno Smith, Derek Carr, Ryan Tannehill, and Jimmy G making big money is nuts to me.
@Ballaholic82 Herbert is a top 5 QB when healthy. Dude has the best arm in the league. I agree with your point in general just wanted to mention that.
@@switchblade6best arm in the league? 😂 stop it.
This creator doesn't have the capability of producing such an analysis.
I think the WRs stats has to have an asterisk, considering they had like 4 different QBs throwing to them in games.
Amari’s season looks better considering games of PJ Walker, Dorian RT, and a washed Watson before Flacco came in.
If you are already missing the fairytale run of Joe Flacco
👇
He should start next year
Yes they lost but they made the playoffs
I’m not, get Watson back.
Shit was a nightmare
tell me you know nothing about the salary cap without telling me you know nothing about the salary cap
Can you please elaborate further I’m eager to hear
@@FootballAnalysis1 considering more than half the league is in the negative in the cap and nothing happens to them, I’m gonna say the cap doesn’t really exists
The Browns will keep restructuring contracts and push money down the line… also still be able to gather talent through free agency(like they did last offseason) and trades. People just see Watson contract and wants to complain
Holy shit that expression is tired and worn out.
@@FootballAnalysis1 I think in the NFL you can do a thing called restructuring contracts.
Ah, i love seeing the browns sad. Its comfort, it's home
That’s what you get. When you go all in to sign a fully guaranteed, overpriced contract with a terrible human being, that’s what you get.
Browns are dead men walking. The only hope for the team is for Deshaun to somehow return to his year 1-2 form which is looking less likely with each passing year.
“Passing year” is a great double entendre
He won’t return the same, he’s changed to a QB more focused on winning then putting up amazing stats, I don’t want Houston Watson to return. Cause when he was in Houston they had a terrible record.
If Cle gets the Watson from the 2nd half of the ravens game for most of next year they will be fine....i mean he was 5-1 b4 his injury . But that 1st Bengals game was horrible lmao
How is that their only hope when they've clearly shown they could win without him if needed
@@SawyersaviationTHANK YOU Finally a reasonable comment in this goofy ass comment section
Also thank the browns for ruining the QB market probably for the next decade
Naw, the other more responsible NFL franchises stepped in and put a quick Nix on all that cute stuff. Nobody else is handing out fully guaranteed contracts nor will they even discuss it.
@@robertocalderon1584 I don’t mean so much the guaranteed money rather that they decided to pay him almost the same as Mahomes
@@gabrielmc456but 8 other QBs got contracts bigger than his? The QB market was going to 50 mill a year. The Browns saw that coming and paid deshaun before it happened. With or without the watson contract the market for franchise QBs would be 50 mill in 2024.
They paid him more than Mahomes @@gabrielmc456
Man if they didn't have Watson I would be extremely scared on the Browns in the future. Imagine if they could sign Kirk Cousins or signed someone like Minshew for cheap and bolstered their receivers with Higgins/Evans/Pittman or even Hollywood Brown.
I just can't imagine Watson leading the Browns to the Super Bowl in the year 2024...And even if he was able to, I can't imagine the NFL being thrilled about Watson as the face of SB LIX
As much as I dislike Watson as a Texans fan he can play!!!
If he's not totally ruined by his perv problems he should do well for the Browns.
Remember how the browns went through 2 qbs and pulled joe flacco off the couch and still made the playoffs....
Three QBs...
Browns will be just fine 😂😂
Yeah I kind of chuckled at that too. Good to have a playoff appearance though.
@@robertocalderon1584How is a playoff appearance any good when u get absolutely destroyed??
@@jasonhensley7455 Ask 75 percent of the nfl because most teams got destroyed lol pick up the pieces and be better.
@@jasonhensley7455 Would you rather go 1-15 and 0-16 back to back?
I mean the second half of the Baltimore game he went something like 14 for 14 or 12 but I would say he had his hand in that win
Amari is a beast, even with 5 QBs he pulled a 1K season.
Texans should snag him or davantea Adams this year. Get a beast of a route runner
I'm thinking the Texans will likely try to stay as young as they can due to the overwhelming rewards they reaped this year due to the culture change.
Amari is a Beast ? Do you ever watch NFL film ? 😂😂😂 He’s on his 3rd team for a reason , when he’s in the mood to play he is a really good receiver. The problem is that he’s rarely in a good mood to play , he often is just going through the motions. He doesn’t consistently block , he only go half speed if he’s not getting the ball . I watched him play on the Raiders and Dallas- he’s too inconsistent to be a beast or a top 5 receiver
Pats pls
@@bobdees6428Dallas traded him because he was to expensive but he’s great
I could see him going to the Lions. They need a WR outside of the Sun God.
You make great content, keep up the awesome work
Thank you!
Nasty Man is morally bad. Therefore the Browns are bad at football. This channel jumped the gun on calling Watson a bust and now that narrative is influencing the analysis.
It is trending that direction bro...bust I mean. I'm not a browns fan but his play has been completely anemic and paltry.
Watson has been a bust since become a Cleveland Brown. He has 14 passing touchdowns in 12 games for them. Is that worth $230M? No
Also stated within the video was how much I love Nick Chubb, Joel Bitonio, Wyatt Teller, Cedric Tillman and Dawand Jones fwiw
One thing left unmentioned is wether Watson will ever be the same coming back from his shoulder injury. I know that he is expected to make a full recovery, but how will that injury affect his ability to throw?
This is probably the biggest argument against fully guaranteed deals...the team takes 100% of the injury risk.
Going to be interesting with Chubb and Watson both coming back. They will be fine.
Browns will be fine. NFL cap isn’t real and teams find lots of ways to circumvent it. Still have a great OLine. Lots of injuries last year that are unlikely to happen again. Chubb is going to have a year like Adrian Peterson’s MVP season when he came back from the knee injury. Lots of fantastic young defensive players. Not saying they win the division but could still make the playoffs.
Also, division is getting weaker. Steelers probably finish below .500 and Burrow will probably sustain another season ending injury and retire.
The hell ypu talking about.. yall division is still tough you talking tthis Burrow will get injured shit again like he ain't been leading his team too deep playoff runs.. Steelers are trash but Ravens and Bengals are gonna still be a probllem No yall division ain't getting weaker . Only in yo dreams @@cbjm36
@@cbjm36ok that second comment is just stupid, to say the Steelers will Magically finish below 500 after 17 years straight of not, and then to predict a career ending knee injury of a 27 year old is fantasy
You’re on some Grade A copium here
@@Kyle-bi7df it’ll happen eventually
it’s never as good as you think and never as bad as you think
I would say 14/14 135 yards and a touchdown in the 4th quarter on an almost completely shattered shoulder against the number one team in football is putting the team on his back... otherwise good video.
Totally worth a qtr billion dollars
Ya ignore the rest of the games he played. He averaged 185 yards with 1 td and a pick. Dude was butt cheeks
Just trying to be constructive here. I don't think anyone would be bothered by you dropping "and let's begin", and I get the feeling you want to. I've watched your channel grow from nothing to a success, and it's totally cool to change things and drop any schitck you tried in the early days.
Love the videos, keep em coming.
To a point...you're kind fit your words of encouragement buy you know what that statement reminds me of ( OK Lets begin) Howard Cosell and Walter Cronkite. At their hearts these guys are journalists just like Cosell, Cosell just achieved more prominence due to the limitations of his medium. So to me the journalistic intro sounds cool. 🔥
I honestly haven’t thought about it but I’ll do it in a few videos moving forward. I appreciate the good constructive feedback (truly)
3:55 nick chubb getting tackled by his brother.
Cousin
There just seems to be no end to the stupidity that is acquiring Watson. I don't know who was stupid enough to give up 3 first rounders, with no provisions for the possibility of a lengthy suspension & paying him such big $, but they ought to be run out of town.
It would be difficult, if they didn’t acquire an elite QB mid season such as Joe Flacco. I think they are set up to be a dynasty after that move.
A dynasty because of Joe Flacco? 😂
@@billsfever he’s an elite qb
@@oxiclean4972he’s elite for small periods of time and then he’s Joe flacco
Dude threw 2 pick sixes back to back. Who does that lmao
"Elite"? He was a TO machine.
Baltimore win wasnt because of watson?? dawg he went 14/14 with a broken shoulder lmao.
Watson literally went 14/14 in the second half against the ravens to overcome a two touchdown deficit while playing through a broken shoulder and high ankle sprain. That's literally putting the team on his back when they needed it most.
Still not worth $230 million
@@mudbutt5951naw, and I'll advised...takes heart to do it though, and guts. Before we start handing him out Nobel peace prizes though we should remember that he could actually afford to play with those injuries...cause his entire scrooge mcduck style fortune is 100% FULLY guaranteed.
@mudbutt5951 that's what a franchise QB does tho. Can lead the team downfield late in the 4th qtr and win the game. What deshaun did in that game shows exactly the type of player he is. The haters refuse to recognize how impressive that was.
YOU DUMP CHUBB !!!! AND U DUMP CHUBB NOW MR. !!!!! - Sgt Tackleberry ( Police Acaedmy )
Watson shouldnt even have a job so the fact Cleveland gave him that stupid contract i dont frel bad for him
To me last year at least, the raiders and the browns were in a very similar situation. They both had great rosters with good to amazing defenses at times. But they were a quarterback away from being real contenders.
This is bad.
Watson has played 12 games in two years with the Browns with an 8-4 record and a passer rating of 81.7. That's a ton of mediocrity.
The Browns being the Browns. The Texans were desperate to unload Watson and no other team was bidding against the Browns for Watson. Why they gave Watson the huge guaranteed contract only the Browns know. Their only hope now is to draft a QB in the 2nd round, maybe Nix, Pennix, or Rattler
There were others team bidding against them. That’s why the high contract. If you’re going to spew info at least get your “facts” right.
Geez… talk about selective memory. “No one was bidding against the browns for Watson”…that’s a total fabrication. We weren’t even the top contenders until last minute. Carolina, Seattle and NO were expected.
Watson was overdrafted and now he's overpaid.
The saints have been getting through the cap for years with that crazy deal woth Michael thomas and even begore with Drew Brees. The cap can always be modified in some way. One player i wish u talked about was Jack conklin dude is getting paid waaaaay to much to play only 4 games a year
Great video, why do you think Watson hasn't gotten anywhere close to his Texans form?
In short, injuries and fault of his own (the suspension) that have limited him from getting consistent game reps.
The highest paid man does not perform as he is paid. That makes the whole organization difficult to manage, especially NFL has a salary cap.
He’s not the highest paid.
@@derfdessert773
He is not the highest paid player in whole NFL, but the highest paid in Browns.
@@南台湾住民 Shocking that a QB is a team's highest-paid player.
Hey Browns ... Texan fan here, we'll give you all our drafts picks this year for Myles Garret and Amri Cooper! That way you get a ton of cap space and a ton of picks to restack your team cheaply.
You realize have to feel for Browns fans (Niners fan here) because Jimmy Haslem is as big of an ass as Dan Snyder and signing Watson to a totally guaranteed contract proves it
Those pick sixes came late in the game when they had no choice but to take risks. They didn't cause the loss: they just made the loss look worse than it was.
The Browns could also sign Watson to a completely new contract with most of it being a bonus that is paid up front and push the money on the new contract back.
The worst part of the Watson dilemma is that since his contract is fully guaranteed there's no point to cutting him. It makes matters worse for the immediate year as all remaining money vests, meaning any cuts would have to be extremely deep.
Why the fuck would you cut Watson. For who
@@user-sh1do4sp8eTo get his gigantic contracts off the books. There would be one year of severe pain but then it would be gone.
This guy is a great writer and wa-a-a-ay more thorough than most. Fans of the Browns can criticize his opinions all they want, but he's backing them with facts and logical conclusions, whereas the fans are emotionally mired. Money counts more than enthusiasm.
The overwhelming majority of football fans have a major lack of understanding about how the salary cap works. They hear the people warning of the salary cap catastrophe that's looming, but when Andrew Berry restructured DWs deal and created cap space last year, they saw that as proof that the naysayers and "haters" were wrong. But what they didn't realize is that it only delayed the inevitable and made it much worse when it does happen. And when they do it again this offseason, their reaction will be the same.
The Browns are betting that Watson will be elite again and they will extend him for another 5 years. But they are gambling with a players who's been wildly inconsistent for two seasons and now has a surgically repaired throwing shoulder. And with each restructure, they are doubling down on that gamble.
Simply put, without an extension, the Browns are running out of room to stuff that guaranteed money in. With another restructure this offseason, his cap hit could hit near $90M for the next two seasons.
I predict that this is going to end very very badly.
@@Boblib1970 Couldn't have said it better myself.
It’s amazing they won coach of the year, dpoy and comeback player is the year … and didn’t win a playoff game lol
Injuries will do that to a team.
@@bigredracingdog466 ? Tons of super injured teams win lol
@@bradlyfan Which one went to the playoffs without their starting QB?
@@bigredracingdog466 Tyrod Taylor and the bills off the top of my head in 2017. But what does that have to do with winning a playoff game lol. Also flacko won comeback player of the year so he wasn’t a scrub lol. Brown fans and excuses ..
@@bradlyfan I was talking about this season. 14 teams and only one of them had a backup QB. It's a pretty rare feat. Tyrod Taylor and the Bills lost in the first round in 2017 as you stated. Last year the Ravens went to the playoffs with Tyler Huntley because Lamar Jackson took them to 9-4 before he got hurt. They won only one game the rest of the way. They lost in the first round of the playoffs too. See a pattern here? Reasons, not excuses.
I have sympathy for the fans, but the head office sold their soul to hire a sex offender.
I think the video is fair. Unbiased and it’s his thoughts but it’s not insane too believe if you finally get a full season of Deshaun he can bounce back either. We still have yet too see it. At least a 14+ games played season.
ill say this, IF deshaun can return to even an above average starting level QB tier the browns situation is drastically different. they have a very good defense, a running game and seem to be pretty good at drafting. it wouldnt shock me if the browns won 11-12 games next season assuming Chubb is healthy
"I know a guy that knows a guy that's a "friend-of-ours", FORGET ABOUT IT!"
When you make people think “Maybe that Manziel kid wasn’t so bad” both on and off the field, no other way to say it other than….ya done f’ked up.
It is extremely satisfying to see an organization almost immediately start suffering the consequences for one of the worst decisions in modern NFL history
The Browns’ trade for Watson BUILT the Texans’ playoff roster. It is now officially worse than the legendary Herschel Walker deal that built the Cowboys dynasty.
I think the browns realized a qb does not always make a good team. You have a very small chance of getting a mahomes, Brady, or purdy if he’s the real deal as it looks like. But teams win championships anyways with a great team and a qb that operates within that teams abilities. The best example is Mathew stafford winning it with a great rams team a few years ago. With the lions he wasn’t even making the playoffs but put him on a great team and it’s a Super Bowl. The browns, for some reason, thought Watson was around the class of mahomes, but we now know it’s far from the case. The issue is the browns owe him mahomes type money which will make a pretty good browns team have to lose pretty good players. They swung and missed and now it’s going to be a long rebuild. They should have kept building the browns into a great team with picks and fa signings, and then once that happened sign a qb that’s fit that style to a cheap contract. Maybe it was a Flacco or someone else like cj shroud if we kept our picks and moved up. Instead we are here and it’s not a good place.
I liked having a qb we drafted.
I disagreed vehemently with this trade so much it broke my "browns fan" status. Baker looks pretty good.
5:50 mike korzemba music iykyk
Good video. 2024 will likely be the last year that the window is open for the Browns, so i hope they make the most of it.
This would be a good video if contracts couldn't be restructured
Tell me that you don't understand how the salary cap works without saying "I don't know how the salary cap works."
He addresses restructures in the video. There's only so much they can do without restructuring Watson, which could be a cataclysmic mistake.
I used to love cheering for the browns. Love an underdog. Then they showed the nfl why they deserve to be a team to root against.
Deshaun won’t be Texans Deshaun, he said it in a press conference that he has improved. For him as we saw in Houston they didn’t win many games, he put up good stats but didn’t win games, so now for him it’s more of a just win games mindset, not put up a bunch of amazing stats. He went 5-1 what else could you want?
The Browns didn't revord a single sack in that Houston game. They allowed Houston to easily score touchdowns after Cleveland took the lead twice in the first half. That game was disappointing on so many levels.
Thank you for making this video. Because of the fully guaranteed deal, I've been saying since the day that it was announced that this was going to be catastrophically bad for the Browns if he didn't become an elite QB again.
I've tried to explain this to Browns fans, but they don't understand. They point to last years restructure as evidence that Browns management knows what they are doing without realizing that the restructure just made it worse and that there is no way out of it.
Unfortunately, most people simply don't understand how the salary cap works.
I think it may be you who doesn't understand because the Browns can restructure it again for this year. They can add void years or other things. Im sure you know a lot about the cap but not as much as Andrew Berry.
@@japex12346 Do you know how void years work, because I do. Firstly, they can only add 1 void year with a restructure this spring. The rule is that the max number of void years is 5 minus the year of the contract that the player is on. 3rd in Watsons case. So 5-3 equals 2...but they already added a void year last year, so they can add 1 with a restructure this offseason.
Regarding void years...yes, you can put money in those years, but when you get towards the end, or the actual end of the original contract...2026 in Watsons case (void years dont count)...you have two choices. 1) Do a contract extension or 2) Allow the player to play out the contract and let it expire and the player becomes a FA.
If you do option 1, the salary cap accountability of the signing bonus of the extension is spread out evenly over the life of the new contract (just as it is with the original comtract), but the cap number for the void years is added to that number.
Example:
Watson signs a 5 year extension with a $200M signing bonus. That counts $40M a year from 2027 to 2031 to the cap. Now, lets say that the Browns through restructures before the extension, added 3 void years, each with $15M in cap charges that were pushed back during those restructures. The cap hit would be $55M for the years 2027, 2028, and 2029...the first 3 years of the extension...before falling back to $40M for the last two. And that's not counting the players actual salary for each year. Those numbers, 55 and 40, will be even higher when accounting for the salary for each season.
If you do option 2 and let the player play out the contract and become a FA, then all cap charges in void years are added together and accelerated forward and charged to the current year, 2027 in Watsons case. Using example 1, the Browns would then have a $45M dead cap hit in 2027 while Watson is QB'ing for another team.
Obviously, option 1 is what the Browns are counting on and absolutely what they planned for when they gave him the fully guaranteed contract. They assumed that he'd be the QB he was in Houston and they'd have a top 5-8 QB on their roster. So far, he's no where close.
If Watson continues to struggle and underperform, they're in a real bind. Do you bite the bullet and live with a $64M cap hit for the next 3 years which will inhibit their ability to sign and keep key players?
Or do they keep restructuring and pushing cap money back, hoping that he'll come around and be elite again so that they can give him that extension? The problem is, if he doesn't then the cap situation will get really really ugly,
Or do they keep throwing good money after bad and extend a mediocre QB another 5 years just for cap relief? The problem here is that he will be severely underperforming for the amount of cap space he's using. And that's not to mention that the Browns would have absolutely ZERO leverage in this situation and Watson could milk them for millions more.
This is why fully guaranteed contracts are a disaster waiting to happen. And why we will never see another one of this magnitude again. (Kurt Cousins took less fully guaranteed money and only a 3 year contract).
@@japex12346Restructuring Watson's contract just pushes the problem into the years remaining on it. Keep doing that and the cap hit in the final year is going to be enormous.
They could trade Conklin for cap space. The roster is better than you think, they don't need to bring in much beyond a wr, rb, and a backup qb. And you discredit Amari but aside from the dtr game and his big injuries he played well. The home vrs road results on the defense is the most concerning element. Lastly how do you question what this team can do when they beat the upper echelon of the nfl?
Browns cap situation is perfectly fine, with contract restructures they can end up with over 30 million in cap space. Berry is a cap wizard and has consistently spent over the cap every year as the Browns GM. Browns can pick up more weapons in free agency and the draft. They also have multiple new offensive minds to help Watson, including Dorsey who coached both Josh Allen and Cam Newton. Watson stats had they been for a whole season would have been good enough to be in the pro bowl and arguably in the MVP race so I think he will be just fine.
ignorance is bliss
Before the texans loss, practically everyone was saying the browns defense and joe flacco was gonna win it all. Oh, how little they knew
Cheesehead from Houston here. We were preetty excited by Watson but when he went toxic with the happy ending massage routine, its like he forgot what is important. I don't think he will ever have another year near what he had in Houston, certainly not a year that will come close to justiofying his salary. My guess is the Browns will have 3-5 mediocre years of suffering thru cap space hell, before they right their ship.
Just re-sign Flacco.