Here’s a question I’ll bet the Browns have asked themselves only in the deepest corner of their darkest nightmares: Now that quarterback Deshaun Watson is returning from an 11-game suspension stemming from more than two dozen lawsuits detailing graphic accounts of sexual harassment and assault, what happens if he comes back and his play on the field isn’t worth the headaches and the moral contortions it took to get him to Cleveland?
While this sounds laughable, especially for a three-time Pro Bowler and college national champion who will start his career anew against the worst team in the NFL, let’s remove what we know about Watson the player from the equation for a moment and consider a view from 30,000 feet. Cleveland is essentially paying the richest contract in professional football history for a player who will be 700 days removed from playing in a regular-season game, in an offense he’s never operated, against defenses that are stylistically different from when he last played. This is not an effort to minimize the on-field successes Watson has had in the past (indeed, he had a passer rating of 112 with 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions without DeAndre Hopkins, knocking down one of the flimsier arguments against his failing in his return), but it has to be on the list of items Cleveland was willing to deal with when it crafted its pro/con list.
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