The Deshaun Watson Discussion Thread

[tstafford]

Which brings me to this thought experiment.. if DTR somehow captains an elite defense and strong running game into the Browns first Super Bowl appearance would that be enough to move off of Watson despite his contract?

Probably not. Generally that's not how the NFL operates. They go right back to the QB1 and the back-up returns to clipboard holding. Of course it creates a ton of tension and fan discontent!

[Sriracha]

Which brings me to this thought experiment.. if DTR somehow captains an elite defense and strong running game into the Browns first Super Bowl appearance would that be enough to move off of Watson despite his contract?

Probably not. Generally that's not how the NFL operates. They go right back to the QB1 and the back-up returns to clipboard holding. Of course it creates a ton of tension and fan discontent!

It's happened before with Drew Bledsoe and Tom Brady

[mild]

Which brings me to this thought experiment.. if DTR somehow captains an elite defense and strong running game into the Browns first Super Bowl appearance would that be enough to move off of Watson despite his contract?

Probably not. Generally that's not how the NFL operates. They go right back to the QB1 and the back-up returns to clipboard holding. Of course it creates a ton of tension and fan discontent!

I'm guessing it won't be the last time that DTR spot-starts over Watson over the course of his rookie contract; he's cheap labour fixed until 2026.

But as per usual, the money tells the story. If you ever want to read the future: open Spotrac, and look at the Cap Hit and Dead Cap numbers. The Browns have made this contract utterly immovable until 2026 at the earliest (by my estimation).

They are all-in on the massage man - as if what they gave up in the trade + the contract + the restructuring didn't already tip that off.

ps. Browns in the Superbowl? How long have you been a football fan...?

[Sriracha]

ps. Browns in the Superbowl? How long have you been a football fan...?

That's why I was wondering if that might be enough to just eat the contract!

Browns are one of something like 4 teams that have never made a Super Bowl appearance.

[tstafford]

Which brings me to this thought experiment.. if DTR somehow captains an elite defense and strong running game into the Browns first Super Bowl appearance would that be enough to move off of Watson despite his contract?

Probably not. Generally that's not how the NFL operates. They go right back to the QB1 and the back-up returns to clipboard holding. Of course it creates a ton of tension and fan discontent!

I'm guessing it won't be the last time that DTR spot-starts over Watson over the course of his rookie contract; he's cheap labour fixed until 2026.

But as per usual, the money tells the story. If you ever want to read the future: open Spotrac, and look at the Cap Hit and Dead Cap numbers. The Browns have made this contract utterly immovable until 2026 at the earliest (by my estimation).

They are all-in on the massage man - as if what they gave up in the trade + the contract + the restructuring didn't already tip that off.

ps. Browns in the Superbowl? How long have you been a football fan...?

Agreed on all of that. Watson is here to stay.

[TheTroll]

Probably not. Generally that's not how the NFL operates. They go right back to the QB1 and the back-up returns to clipboard holding. Of course it creates a ton of tension and fan discontent!

I'm guessing it won't be the last time that DTR spot-starts over Watson over the course of his rookie contract; he's cheap labour fixed until 2026.

But as per usual, the money tells the story. If you ever want to read the future: open Spotrac, and look at the Cap Hit and Dead Cap numbers. The Browns have made this contract utterly immovable until 2026 at the earliest (by my estimation).

They are all-in on the massage man - as if what they gave up in the trade + the contract + the restructuring didn't already tip that off.

ps. Browns in the Superbowl? How long have you been a football fan...?

Agreed on all of that. Watson is here to stay.

Yep. CLE bought the 12 session massage package and it will take a few years to use it up

[FantasyFreak]

Curious where people are at with Watson vs some young guys/vets, and what's the difference? (Assuming a 12 team SF league values)

Watson vs Purdy?

Watson or Fields?

Watson or Love?

Watson or Tom Bra...I mean AOC? (I had to throw that one in there) disregard

What about some older guys?

Watson vs a revived Russ?

Watson vs Cousins?

He's well below say Kyler, or Dak at this point, but those 2 vets who are/were producing, I'd be intersting to hear some takes. (Cousins injury clouds things, but he was still a top end FF QB and isn't a guy who depends on elite athleticism, so he's should have a few years of good ball left, perhaps).

[blemly]

Curious where people are at with Watson vs some young guys/vets, and what's the difference? (Assuming a 12 team SF league values)

Watson vs Purdy?

Watson or Fields?

Watson or Love?

Watson or Tom Bra...I mean AOC? (I had to throw that one in there) disregard

What about some older guys?

Watson vs a revived Russ?

Watson vs Cousins?

He's well below say Kyler, or Dak at this point, but those 2 vets who are/were producing, I'd be intersting to hear some takes. (Cousins injury clouds things, but he was still a top end FF QB and isn't a guy who depends on elite athleticism, so he's should have a few years of good ball left, perhaps).

Fields
Purdy
Watson
Cousins
Russ
Love

In that order for me. Cousins would probably be at or maybe even above Watson but for the injury/team uncertainty this offseason.

I for one just don’t buy Russ’s revival. He’s way too conservative and still doesn’t seem the same as Russ of several years ago.

[Sriracha]

Curious where people are at with Watson vs some young guys/vets, and what's the difference? (Assuming a 12 team SF league values)

Watson vs Purdy?

Watson or Fields?

Watson or Love?

Watson or Tom Bra...I mean AOC? (I had to throw that one in there) disregard

What about some older guys?

Watson vs a revived Russ?

Watson vs Cousins?

He's well below say Kyler, or Dak at this point, but those 2 vets who are/were producing, I'd be intersting to hear some takes. (Cousins injury clouds things, but he was still a top end FF QB and isn't a guy who depends on elite athleticism, so he's should have a few years of good ball left, perhaps).

Assuming you have no qualms about him being on your roster those are pretty easy decisions, imo.

[FantasyFreak]

Curious where people are at with Watson vs some young guys/vets, and what's the difference? (Assuming a 12 team SF league values)

Watson vs Purdy?

Watson or Fields?

Watson or Love?

Watson or Tom Bra...I mean AOC? (I had to throw that one in there) disregard

What about some older guys?

Watson vs a revived Russ?

Watson vs Cousins?

He's well below say Kyler, or Dak at this point, but those 2 vets who are/were producing, I'd be intersting to hear some takes. (Cousins injury clouds things, but he was still a top end FF QB and isn't a guy who depends on elite athleticism, so he's should have a few years of good ball left, perhaps).

Fields
Purdy
Watson
Cousins
Russ
Love

In that order for me. Cousins would probably be at or maybe even above Watson but for the injury/team uncertainty this offseason.

I for one just don’t buy Russ’s revival. He’s way too conservative and still doesn’t seem the same as Russ of several years ago.

Interesting. Thanks for sharing. I have Love a lot higher, and Fields a lot lower than you, but it's great to see what people are thinking.

On the topic of Russ, what do you think happens with him, as his contract is a bit of an albatross. Specifically on Payton and Russ, and how long it lasts.

[FantasyFreak]

Curious where people are at with Watson vs some young guys/vets, and what's the difference? (Assuming a 12 team SF league values)

Watson vs Purdy?

Watson or Fields?

Watson or Love?

Watson or Tom Bra...I mean AOC? (I had to throw that one in there) disregard

What about some older guys?

Watson vs a revived Russ?

Watson vs Cousins?

He's well below say Kyler, or Dak at this point, but those 2 vets who are/were producing, I'd be intersting to hear some takes. (Cousins injury clouds things, but he was still a top end FF QB and isn't a guy who depends on elite athleticism, so he's should have a few years of good ball left, perhaps).

Assuming you have no qualms about him being on your roster those are pretty easy decisions, imo.

Intersting. The last poster had Fields at the top, and he's the only young player I mentioned you wouldn't take over Watson.

I would have Fields below Purdy and Love, myself, as well. Fields vs Watson is interesting, because the Bears can move on from him, but I'd think Fields gets a 1 year type shot somewhere else if they do, likely a deal for a 2nd rounder or something to another team. I have a hard time believing the Bears pass on a QB if they get the top pick, but I also think there's enough teams with QB's questions that Fields gets another shot, albeit on a shorter leash.

[Sriracha]

Intersting. The last poster had Fields at the top, and he's the only young player I mentioned you wouldn't take over Watson.

I would have Fields below Purdy and Love, myself, as well. Fields vs Watson is interesting, because the Bears can move on from him, but I'd think Fields gets a 1 year type shot somewhere else if they do, likely a deal for a 2nd rounder or something to another team. I have a hard time believing the Bears pass on a QB if they get the top pick, but I also think there's enough teams with QB's questions that Fields gets another shot, albeit on a shorter leash.

While Watson has been pretty poor from an NFL perspective in CLE he's still been a top 10 QB pretty much every time he hasn't left the game early in CLE; While I played with a scenario that has CLE's QB of the future being DTR I do think that's a very, very remote outcome because of the albatross of Watson's contract. Even if DTR were to play better than him I don't see CLE having the balls to admit the Watson mistake short of him playing absolutely horrid and I give him more credit than that.

Fields has been far more hit or miss and I just don't think he'll be a starter long term even if he does get another year after CHI drafts a QB. There is upside with him if he can suddenly stop getting sacked at an all-time rate but 3 years into a QBs career I just don't think that's a realistic expecatation at this point.

[FantasyFreak]

Intersting. The last poster had Fields at the top, and he's the only young player I mentioned you wouldn't take over Watson.

I would have Fields below Purdy and Love, myself, as well. Fields vs Watson is interesting, because the Bears can move on from him, but I'd think Fields gets a 1 year type shot somewhere else if they do, likely a deal for a 2nd rounder or something to another team. I have a hard time believing the Bears pass on a QB if they get the top pick, but I also think there's enough teams with QB's questions that Fields gets another shot, albeit on a shorter leash.

While Watson has been pretty poor from an NFL perspective in CLE he's still been a top 10 QB pretty much every time he hasn't left the game early in CLE; While I played with a scenario that has CLE's QB of the future being DTR I do think that's a very, very remote outcome because of the albatross of Watson's contract. Even if DTR were to play better than him I don't see CLE having the balls to admit the Watson mistake short of him playing absolutely horrid and I give him more credit than that.

Fields has been far more hit or miss and I just don't think he'll be a starter long term even if he does get another year after CHI drafts a QB. There is upside with him if he can suddenly stop getting sacked at an all-time rate but 3 years into a QBs career I just don't think that's a realistic expecatation at this point.

The Bears turned down the 1.01 pick at QB to give Fields another year. If the end up with the 1.01 this year again, I just don't see how Fields has done enough this year to warant them passing on him again. Especially if Poles keeps his job. If Poles gets Caleb, he's got more rope than sticking with Fields again. I also wonder if ownership will have a say in it. With the 1.01, they usually do, and it's hard to imagine that the top brass see this season as a reason to pass on a better QB prospect, and stick with a guy who still isn't close to a top QB going into year 4.

I agree, his dynasty value is on a knife's edge.

[TheTroll]

Intersting. The last poster had Fields at the top, and he's the only young player I mentioned you wouldn't take over Watson.

I would have Fields below Purdy and Love, myself, as well. Fields vs Watson is interesting, because the Bears can move on from him, but I'd think Fields gets a 1 year type shot somewhere else if they do, likely a deal for a 2nd rounder or something to another team. I have a hard time believing the Bears pass on a QB if they get the top pick, but I also think there's enough teams with QB's questions that Fields gets another shot, albeit on a shorter leash.

While Watson has been pretty poor from an NFL perspective in CLE he's still been a top 10 QB pretty much every time he hasn't left the game early in CLE; While I played with a scenario that has CLE's QB of the future being DTR I do think that's a very, very remote outcome because of the albatross of Watson's contract. Even if DTR were to play better than him I don't see CLE having the balls to admit the Watson mistake short of him playing absolutely horrid and I give him more credit than that.

Fields has been far more hit or miss and I just don't think he'll be a starter long term even if he does get another year after CHI drafts a QB. There is upside with him if he can suddenly stop getting sacked at an all-time rate but 3 years into a QBs career I just don't think that's a realistic expecatation at this point.

The Bears turned down the 1.01 pick at QB to give Fields another year. If the end up with the 1.01 this year again, I just don't see how Fields has done enough this year to warant them passing on him again. Especially if Poles keeps his job. If Poles gets Caleb, he's got more rope than sticking with Fields again. I also wonder if ownership will have a say in it. With the 1.01, they usually do, and it's hard to imagine that the top brass see this season as a reason to pass on a better QB prospect, and stick with a guy who still isn't close to a top QB going into year 4.

I agree, his dynasty value is on a knife's edge.

The Bears are one of the few sports franchises where the primary income for the owners is the team. This means finances will always be on their mind and the ability to reset the clock will factor in. Being a life long fan, I can tell you ownership will have a quiet but powerful say with the direction this off season. I actually love Fields and he is talented.

[abloom]

Watson vs Purdy?

Watson or Fields?
Though we may very well have a different answer here before Watson steps on a field again.

Watson or Love?

Watson or Tom Bra...I mean AOC? (I had to throw that one in there) disregard

What about some older guys?

Watson vs a revived Russ?

Watson vs Cousins?