The Cleveland Browns officially announce the blockbuster trade of star quarterback Deshaun Watson and explain their rationale.

Cleveland/Munich – The next blockbuster trade in the current NFL offseason is finally through.

The Cleveland Browns officially announced Sunday that star quarterback Deshaun Watson is moving from the Houston Texans to Ohio to replace current starter Baker Mayfield. What Browns officials are sending to Houston in return can be read here.

At the same time, they signed the playmaker to a new five-year contract. This has a total volume of 230 million US dollars and is fully guaranteed.

Team owners defend decision

Because the franchise faced some backlash on social media following the unofficial announcement of the trade, with 22 civil sexual harassment lawsuits currently still pending against Watson, the two team owners now addressed the fans.

“We are aware of the precarious situation surrounding Deshaun Watson. Our evaluation process of the extremely sensitive subject matter has been one of great caution. We are aware that some of the court processes are ongoing and we respect those,” the owner couple, Dee and Jimmy Haslem, said in an official statement.

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– Cleveland Browns (@Browns) March 20, 2022

In the end, it was the sporting aspect that convinced them: “In our talks, we got to know Deshaun as a modest, honest and open person who is aware of his responsibilities on and off the pitch. He showed us in detail how he wants to lead our team in the future,” it continued.

GM Andrew Berry: “Watson wants to restore creditability “

General manager and senior vice president Andrew Berry also played a big role in the trade for the 26-year-old: “We spent a lot of time over the past few months looking at the legal and athletic situation around him. Once we gathered enough information, we decided to pursue a trade,” Berry explained.

“Deshaun is one of the best players at his position. He knows he needs to put in some work to restore his credit on but also off the field,” he further stated, “We are confident he can give back to the team and the community as we support him in his return to the field,” he concluded.

Head Coach Stefanski: Good impression of Watson

“We understand the concerns and questions about the difficult issue, but are very confident after the great work of our team owners,” Head Coach Kevin Stefanski also said in a statement.

He said it was important for him personally to meet the playmaker: “It was important for us to meet him in person so we could evaluate him sufficiently. I am very happy that I will be able to coach him in the future,” Stefanski concluded.

It is not yet 100 per cent clear whether Watson’s off-field litigation problems are indeed finally over. Even if all lawsuits are dropped or settled out of court, the NFL could suspend him for some time.