Fantasy Outlook: Deshaun Watson to the Browns

It’s been a week now since one of the Houston Texans and the Cleveland Browns pulled one of the biggest trades in NFL history since the Herschel Walker trade back in 1989. Houston traded DeShaun Watson for a board of draft picks for the star quarterback and it became official on Monday the 21st, along with a little sweetener. Here’s the final deal:

Texans Receive: Three 1st-round picks (2022,2023,2024), one 3rd-round pick (2023), and two 4th-round picks (2022,2024).

Browns Receive: DeShaun Watson, 2024 6th-round pick.

Not only did the Browns sweeten up the deal for Houston, but they also gave Watson the largest guaranteed contract in NFL history. Yes, you read that correctly. DeShaun Watson is heading to Cleveland on a five-year, $230 million contract that is fully guaranteed. Jaw-dropping, yes. 

The Browns are taking a risk here on Watson. What a lot of money to give a player who is facing 22 civil lawsuits over sexual assaults, there’s a chance that Watson is suspended to start the 2022 season. I looked at the contract details and based on the structure of it, it looks like both the Browns and Watson’s camp is expecting some type of suspension coming down the pipeline. For the 2022 season, Watson will make a base salary of $1.035 million, a great bargain for the Browns to take on. Over the next four years though, that number balloons up to $46 million per year.

What kind of suspension are we looking at? Well, that’s up to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. A close case I can sort of compare to this is the one of Ben Roethlisberger when he was suspended for six games. Right before the season started, Commissioner Goodell reduced it to four games due to “good behavior”.

I think, and I’m sure the NFL could see a repercussion on this but I could see as little as two games. Last season, the Houston Texans kept Watson on their active roster and listed him “inactive” for every game. So essentially, he’s already “served” some sort of suspension, but shouldn’t Watson be held to a higher standard than the law? 

I’m not here to say yay or nay, but I think if they’re going to reflect right for the fan base and the face of the NFL, I could see something more in the range of 4-10 games.

 The best way to follow this is on Twitter and follow Drew Davenport. He’s got some great info on this since he is a criminal defense attorney with 20 years of experience. I’m just a fantasy football dude.

Fantasy Football Outlook

Suspension: He’s a back-end QB1 based on the worst-case scenario that you will be more than likely reaching for in redrafts and clogging a roster spot for X amount of weeks he’s out. Too good to drop because someone else will pick him up, but you’re also losing out on waiver wire players. In dynasty, he still holds top-5 value.

Cleared of Charges: He’s a top-five quarterback in redraft, no doubt in my mind. He’ll have the best OL he’s ever had, two top-end running backs, and a wide receiver in Amari Cooper who went from a WR3 in fantasy with Mayfield to a back-end WR1 with Watson.

Sign up for PrizePicks with the promo code FACEOFF for a 100% match up to $100!

What is PrizePicks? Learn all about it here. 

-Hot Topics-

Dynasty Rookie ADP

Latest Dynasty Rookie Mock Draft Results

Rookie Preview: Running Backs

Sign up for BetUS today with the promo code FACEOFF and get a 125% match on your first deposit! Join here.