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The Cleveland Browns made a Faustian bargain when they signed Deshaun Watson in the offseason. The team knew all about his off-field controversies but sold their soul to sign someone they believed could make them competitive at the business end of the season.
To briefly recap, Deshaun Watson has been accused of sexual harassment and assault by multiple women, many of whom have come on record. More than twenty women have accused him of such activities. While criminal charges against him have been dropped, civil charges are still ongoing. Watson has reached a settlement with most of them, but at least one is still pending.
Based on the NFL's investigation, the 27-year-old quarterback was suspended for 11 games this season and slapped with a $5 million fine. He returned on December 4 in the game against his former team, the Houston Texans, to play for the first time this season.
While the Browns have said they were satisfied with their decision, they knew what they were getting into. There was no other reason they would give Watson the largest fully guaranteed contract in the history of the NFL at $230 million.
So we must ask ourselves whether the Cleveland Browns made the right decision. Were Deshaun Watson's career stats so impressive that they were willing to trade away their integrity for him?
Did Deshaun Watson's career stats with the Texans influence the Browns to choose him?
Deshaun Watson was with the Houston Texans from 2017 to 2021. He did not feature for them in his final season there as the Texans chose to maintain their morals even if it cost them on the field. But in the three previous seasons that Watson played, he made it to the Pro Bowl each season from 2018 to 2020. In 2020, he was also the NFL's passing yards leader.
Deshaun Watson's career stats prove that he is a very good quarterback, with a 67.7% completion rate with 104 touchdowns and 37 interceptions. He has accumulated 14,670 passing yards with a phenomenal passer rating of 103.9.
Watson has 1,698 yards on the ground, that have resulted in 17 rushing touchdowns. He took the Houston Texans to the playoffs in 2018 and 2019 but failed in 2020, even though he had his best season that year.
Since 2018, when he was named the starter for the Texans, he breached 4,000 passing yards in two seasons and 3,800 yards each season. Watson also never had less than 400 rushing yards in any season. He never threw for less than 25 touchdowns in a season and always had multiple rushing touchdowns as a starting quarterback for the Texans.
Despite all his achievements on the football field, his alleged misdemeanors off it will always continue to haunt him. He has not been charged criminally, but the charges against him did go to civil litigation. The fact that multiple women were willing to come out in public and reveal the alleged abuse showed that there was some credibility to the allegations.
Additionally, he had to settle with most of his accusers, showing there could have been probable guilt, even if he denies it. Further, the NFL's own investigation and subsequent fines and suspensions show that his activities were not always clean and above the board.
Because of all these allegations, Watson could continue to play well on the field and still be castigated. He may yet return to his Texans form for the Browns and lead them to glory. But the stench of the scandal will be hard to shake off for Deshaun Watson and the Browns, irrespective of what he achieves with them on the field.
