Imagine how publicly intolerable the Browns’ acquisition of Deshaun Watson was that we’re sitting here after the Falcons had to trade Matt Ryan to the Colts because of their own failed pursuit of Watson—for scraps, by the way—and eat the largest dead cap hit in NFL history at the same time and thinking: well, it could be worse!
Of course, just barely so. The Falcons, like the Panthers and Saints, are set to play out a comically sad season after they lined up and tap danced for a quarterback who was alleged by 22 different women of either sexual assault or misconduct. The teams put their offseason on hold while the rest of a bustling quarterback carousel played itself out just for a lottery ticket in the who-could-stoop-lower sweepstakes. Cleveland obviously won by rewarding a player accused of some serious misdeeds with a record-setting, fully-guaranteed contract. But everyone else is going to get a crack at the walk of shame here. Monday was Atlanta’s turn.
In the coming days and weeks, I’m sure the Falcons will try and convince everyone this was part of the plan. That Ryan was always going to move on and that they were just kicking some tires in those formal presentations that required a whole bunch of research, due diligence, organizational time and effort, celebrity cameos and maybe a promise to rename the building Deshaun Watson Arena. Head coach Arthur Smith, in a statement released Monday, said: “we’re always evaluating and looking for opportunities to improve our team for the long term. This move is another step in that, and we’re looking forward to the future.”
