Deshaun Watson has received a monster contract with the Cleveland Browns, but it was allegedly only secondary for him. That raises question marks given his history.

Munich – Under normal circumstances, the statement would probably have been just a side note. Acknowledged with a shrug of the shoulders.

The monster contract is said to have played no decisive role for Deshaun Watson when he recently said yes to the Cleveland Browns.

Which, at $230 million for five years, fully guaranteed, is hard to believe. But as I said, statements like this abound, what athlete sits down at his introductory press conference and says he only came for the dough?

Hardly a loss due to a ban

Despite this, Watson’s statement smacks of blandness in light of the allegations against him that are still being made in the civil lawsuits. A parallel NFL investigation is also underway over the sexual harassment allegations, which could see the quarterback suspended.

Interesting contract detail: if he misses any games in 2022, he reportedly loses about $55,000 per game from his base salary, though none from his nearly $45 million signing bonus.

“Actually, it had nothing to do with the contract,” Watson said of his decision to join the Browns. “I didn’t know about the contract until I told my agent I wanted to go to the Cleveland Browns.”

It was secondary, Watson stressed. “That was after the fact, talking on the phone with Andrew Berry, Kevin (Stefanski) and the Haslam family. That had nothing to do with me choosing the Cleveland Browns.”

Cleveland Browns reportedly already out of the running

Even harder to believe Watson when, according to media reports, the Browns were actually already out of the running. In the days leading up to the trade, the usually well-informed “NFL Network” said talks between the Browns and the Houston Texans would not continue.

The New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers were said to be in the running, in the end the decision was to be made between the Saints and Falcons, it was said. First media outlets are already picking up on the contradiction, “ProFootballTalk” believes his statements on the contract hurt his credibility.

The Browns have been informed they’re out of the running for Deshaun Watson, a source says. The team still views Baker Mayfield as their quarterback going forward. They told Mayfield’s agents at the Combine they’d only explore top-tier QBs such as Watson.

– Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 17, 2022

“I think the media pushed me to make a decision and I didn’t feel comfortable making the right decision and that’s how the news got out to the public,” Watson said. He said he knew Cleveland was the best fit for him, “both in terms of football and in terms of the community and the family atmosphere. It was that connection we had and I knew this was the perfect situation for me to start over. “