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One of the longest trade sagas of this NFL offseason has now been put to bed. Deshaun Watson is now officially a Cleveland Brown. The Texans star had been actively pursuing a move away from the franchise that drafted him all offseason.
The option to pick up Watson intrigued a lot of teams. One among them, of course, was the Browns. Despite having Baker Mayfield, the franchise viewed Watson as an upgrade and decided to go all out for the QB.
In a monster trade, featuring three first-round draft picks and a five-year $230 million guaranteed contract, the Browns ended up getting their man in and sent shockwaves across the NFL community. Just look at NBA star LeBron James' reaction. He could barely contain his excitement.
Even folks in the NFL community were quick to react to the record-breaking deal. The Watson trade certainly seems to have caught the eye of Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes.
The New Orleans Saints were reportedly one of the teams heavily invested in bringing the Texans quarterback's talents to the Superdome. But even their star wide receiver Michael Thomas couldn't blame Watson for choosing the Browns, thanks to that insane guaranteed money.
Former NFL kicker-turned-podcaster Pat McAfee isn't a man of few words. He, instead, is quite the contrary. But this deal seems to have left him speechless as well.
Another fairly outspoken personality has been Antonio Brown. The former Buccaneers wide receiver is known to not mince his words. And he certainly didn't while taking a dig at the Browns following the trade.
Rams' All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey isn't someone you'd want to mess with on the gridiron. But this deal seems to have left him feeling the way he described with two emojis.
Deshaun Watson trade signals the end of Baker Mayfield-era in Cleveland
Deshaun Watson's entry means it's time up for Baker Mayfield as the Browns' QB1. The franchise and Mayfield, which has endured a love-hate relationship over the years, reached its tipping point when news first broke out about the Browns actively pursuing Watson.
The former #1 overall pick even took to social media to make his feelings heard. With Watson now in the picture, Mayfield will have to find himself a new home. And thankfully for him, there are some interesting potential suitors.
As per NFL insider Aaron Wilson, the Indianapolis Colts and Seattle Seahawks are both interested in making Mayfield their new QB1. In Seattle, Mayfield will get to play under legendary head coach Pete Carroll, while at Indy, the young quarterback will get a chance to play with arguably the league's best O-line.
Where and when he gets traded is only a matter of time. But for now, a new era of promise dawns upon the Browns' fanbase.
