There will be a lot of takes in the coming days over the seismic Deshaun Watson trade. Here’s one we can all agree on: It’s a vivid illustration of how NFL teams regard the most important position in their sport.
In the end, Browns general manager Andrew Berry wasn’t deterred by the first pick his team spent on Baker Mayfield four years ago. Or by all that went into the development of the former Heisman winner. Or by the risk of acquiring a player with 22 civil lawsuits for allegations ranging from sexual harassment to sexual assault pending against him. And not even by the rejection he got from Watson himself early in the week.
This, in so many ways, is an extension of what we saw last year, when the Rams and 49ers made deals for quarterbacks despite having starters who, at the time, were in their 20s, had taken them to Super Bowls and had multiple years left on deals that those teams had signed them to. It also relates back to everything the Packers did to mend fences with Aaron Rodgers and what the Broncos did to land Russell Wilson.
