The Cleveland Browns pursuit and acquisition of QB Deshaun Watson will be franchise-defining. First, the pursuit led to Baker Mayfield, the quarterback that led them to the playoffs in 2020, to request a trade. Second, the trade for Watson cost the team a significant amount of draft capital. Third, Watson’s contract is both guaranteed and has huge cap hits associated with it.
The final piece is still to be decided with the discipline process ongoing with the NFL and NFLPA arguing in front of Judge Sue Robinson for the third day on Thursday.
It is now known that the NFL is seeking an indefinite suspension with the possibility of requesting reinstatement after one year. The NFLPA may argue for no discipline or at least that there is no precedence for such a lengthy suspension for Watson.
If the NFL gets what it is seeking, the on-the-field impact may be the same as just a one-year suspension but the off-the-field, especially for the fans, would be significant.
Looking forward to the 2022 NFL season for the Browns has been difficult. Everything has been shrouded by the unknown of the discipline process for Watson. An indefinite suspension with a chance to apply for reinstatement after a year would continue the air of uncertainty around the team.
For fans, every game in 2022 could be looked at through the lens of “what if” no matter what but the next offseason will be worse in this case. Watson would not be eligible to apply for reinstatement until sometime in July.
Fans won’t be able to enjoy the start of free agency because “will Watson be reinstated?” Fans won’t be able to enjoy the ramp-up to the NFL draft because “will they have a quarterback?” Fans won’t be able to enjoy media’s videos from offseason activities because “Watson’s availability is all that matters.”
The unknown around Watson would also impact free agents’ decisions. Cleveland would also have a big unknown related to their cap space with Watson’s return possible.
Browns fans have gone through this before with WR Josh Gordon. The Gordon questions hung over the team year after year. If Watson is indefinitely suspended, the Gordon experience will feel like a walk in the park compared to the lack of clarity around a star quarterback on a huge contract that the team gave up a ton of draft picks to acquire.
For the sake of Browns fans, hoping for a clear, definitive suspension is the biggest hope at this point.