The Browns Are Fooling Everybody!

I think The Browns are fooling everybody. It's right in plain sight, but nobody seems to see it. When people see the Browns, they don't see the current Browns. They see the history of the Browns. The Browns have never won a Super Bowl. The Browns had a 17-season playoff drought and are the last team ever to go 0-16. Safe to say the Browns don't have a very good reputation around the league. In addition to that, they have missed on the Qb position for years, with their latest miss being Baker Mayfield, who went number one overall in the same draft as Lamar Jackson.

So when the Browns signed Deshaun Watson for an astronomical 230 million dollars guaranteed contract, they were pretty much universally panned. Many people just chalked this up to poor management by one of the worst-run franchises in the league. Plus, this happened in the middle of Watson's legal trouble, so there was another layer of criticism for the move.

However, let's reexamine that take. Are the Browns as poorly run as they seem? They have 2020's Coach of the year Kevin Stefanski whom the Browns hired leading to their first playoff run in seventeen seasons. The Browns have one of the best rosters in the NFL. They have a solid defense led by one of the best defensive ends in the league Myles Garrett. They have one of the best lines in the NFL and one of the best running backs in Chubb. Plus, a solid receiving core led by newly acquired Amari Cooper.

The Browns adding Watson to this roster is a slam dunk. Off the Field, both Grand Juries decided not to move forward with a case against Deshaun, and The Texans ended up settling with more accusers than Watson did. Watson would also debunk a later claim by a separate accuser from the original case. Let us not forget the Browns were one of four teams in the Watson sweepstakes.

The Browns were able to separate themselves by overpaying for the services of Deshaun Watson. However, the contract wasn't just about wooing Watson. When Watson set the market at 230 Million guaranteed without even playing for a year, it was a chess move. Do you know who that contract set the market for? Division rival Lamar Jackson.

Lamar Jackson is still unsigned, and it looks like the Ravens and Lamar are heading for a divorce. The Ravens organization was the most vocal detractor against fully guaranteed contracts, and now because of the Browns, they must decide between their core values and 2019's Uninamiously Most valuable player. Things are getting ugly for the historically well-run and quiet Ravens Organization.

The Ravens were bounced in the first round of the playoffs without Lamar playing. Greg Roman and Raven's strength and conditioning Coach are out. The players are publicly criticizing the Ravens now more than ever. The Raven's unwillingness to reward Lamar Jackson, the team's leader, has destabilized the organization for the moment. Would this situation be as difficult without the Browns setting the market so high?

The best thing about this move is it's not just Lamar and the Ravens who will be affected. Joe Burrow is coming behind Jackson for his contract, and the Bengals have been known to be cheap. Will they have as much trouble with Burrow as The Ravens have with Lamar?

As a preview of that situation, the Bengals couldn't reach an agreement on Jessie Bates III contract and have let him go to free agency. However, now the Browns are interested in Bates. Will the Bengals reconsider or let Bates take his skills and knowledge of the Bengals to division rival the Browns?

As for Deshaun Watson, he was never going to return to form in the middle of the season with a month of practice after missing a year of football. The true test will be next year's season. If Watson returns to normal, the Browns have secured a franchise Qb. The Watson contract wasn't a foolish overpay by a desperate franchise. It was a calculated maneuver that's already begun to affect the AFC North. These are not your father's Browns.