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NFL Tigers: Deshaun Watson bucks popular choice, but was Cleveland the right choice?

By Marty Coleman

Dec 20, 2020; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) throws a pass during the second half against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 20, 2020; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) throws a pass during the second half against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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As everyone knows by now, former Clemson Tiger Deshaun Watson made a stunning turnabout and decided to allow a trade to the Cleveland Browns late last week after eliminating the Browns less than 24 hours prior.

It turns out Deshaun “eliminated” the Browns for the most trivial of reasons: He’d only been there once and it was cold.

It’s crazy to think that a $230 million dollar decision would come down to such a small and insignificant thing in the first place, and in the end, it was much more than that that caused Watson to change his mind.

But did he make the right choice?

The Browns history is littered with failure in the last 60 years and if Deshaun is able to change that and bring the city a Super Bowl he’ll no doubt be a hero in the city, up there with Cleveland greats.

The problem is making that happen is not going to be easy.

None of Watson’s other choices were really pretty either: rebuilding Carolina that looks years away, hapless Atlanta where long time fans are questioning the direction of the organization, or a New Orleans team operating without head coach Sean Payton for the first time since 2005.

But, Cleveland?

The Browns braintrust apparently sold Watson on the youth and talent on defense, which seems like an interesting way to sell a quarterback on a team.

Sure you want to have a good defense and that worked well enough at Clemson for the Tigers to win a National Championship, but if you remember that team they also had electric players on offense other than Watson, like Wayne Gallman, Mike Williams and Hunter Renfrow, to name a few.

And the Browns?  Well, they have Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt at running back and Amari Cooper at wide receiver.

Watson said he was impressed by the ownership, that the Haslam’s “knew their stuff”, which is the first time I’ve ever heard those two things uttered in the same sentence.

After an 11-5 2020 the Browns slipped to 8-9 last season and they tired of Baker Mayfield enough to guarantee every penny of Watson’s new $230 million contract.

For Watson, anything has to be better than the torment he suffered in Houston, playing behind a rag tag offensive line, with mediocre position players at best and watching the organization trade away Jadeveon Clowney, Nuk Hopkins and J.J. Watt.

But Cleveland?

The kid who grew up in Georgia, played at Clemson and resided in Houston, made the least obvious of choices.

Last time Watson did that he ended up at Clemson and proved everyone wrong by taking the Tigers to two National Championship games and eventually bringing the title back to “Little Ole’ Clemson”.

There’s no doubt Watson wants to prove doubters of every ilk wrong and I don’t doubt he could do that just about anywhere after what I saw in Clemson and, to a lesser degree, in Houston with the team that surrounded him.

But, Cleveland?

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