oldgrappler

That's a good question.. One interesting thing is, the Browns didn't give up any existing players in this deal. When healthy, they have a very good roster on offense and defense. In fact, I don't know of a better team roster in the AFC North. They addressed the need for a very good receiver (though not elite). They added another WR, Jakeem Grant who is also a good returner. And already have Donovan Peoples-Jones. Though they previously dumped TE Austin Hooper, they still have an athletic freak at the position, David Njoku and a second TE with good hands and excellent route runner. The OLine is a top unit when healthy. And they have Chubb, Hunter, and kept D'Ernest Johnson. Throw Watson into that mix and you have an explosive offense that will put a lot of pressure on the oppositions whole defense. I believe Watson will do well because he is an elite talent. Stefanski will figure out how to maximize his talent. Their much improved defense is also coming back in 2022. Btw, the Browns are not done in free agency.

No poll this time but I might as well ask this question. Mayfield is a serviceable QB. In 2020, he threw for 3,563 yards, 26TDs, 8 INTs, 62.8 cmpl %, and QB rating of 95.9. His team went 11-5 and won a playoff game for the first time in forever, beat the Steelers in the playoffs and came very close to beating KC. There are several teams for whom Mayfield would be a QB upgrade. I believe his shoulder injury in 2021 had far more to do with his struggles on the field than any other factor. Hopefully, he will return to the form he had in previous seasons as an accurate passer. So, I believe there will be several teams interested in trading for Mayfield. And I am sure Andrew Berry is working the phones to find a viable trade offer and so are Mayfield's agents. However, the only team I've heard much noise about is the Indianapolis Colts. I guess the Seahawks could also be interested in the wake of the Russell Wilson departure. What team do you think may be interested in Mayfield?

Watson personally called the Browns Thursday morning to tell them they were out of the running. Apparently, the Browns stayed in touch with his agent and turned Watson's head with a five-year contract for $230 million GUARANTEED. That puts Watson between Rogers and Mahomes. Interestingly, Dee Haslem, co-owner of the Browns, is on the NFL's Conduct Committee. I don't think any of the talking-heads picked the Browns as the landing place for Watson. I didn't either. This statement by Cleveland.com's, Mary Kay Cabot, sums up the situation as well as any I've seen. "Watson, ... comes to Cleveland with a boatload of Super Bowl potential and arguably more baggage than anyone in NFL history."

Watson had everyone fooled. Money talks and Haslem has it. And as @bugatti says, winning will change people's opinions.

Interestingly enough, a poll of cleveland.com "insiders" Browns' fans published on March 16 asked the respondents 5 questions surrounding the idea of Deshaun Watson coming to the Browns. Sixty percent of Browns fans didn't want Watson to come to Cleveland. In answer to a second question worded a bit differently, 80% of Browns fans had at least some problem with it. Seven percent said they would stop rooting for the Browns altogether and another 10% said they would consider to stop rooting for the Browns if they acquired Watson. There was another article focused on the opinions of women. One of those interviewed was a licensed massage therapist. She was "absolutely disgusted that the Browns are even entertaining the idea" of bringing Watson to Cleveland. In other news... Owner Jimmy Haslem offered to fly down to Baker Mayfield's home to talk to him about remaining with the Browns after Mayfield asked to be traded. Mayfield declined the visit.

Matt Ryan from Atlanta may soon be expendable. Derek Carr, if they can pry him away from McDaniels and the Raiders. They say Mayfield asked the Browns to trade him today and they turned him down. That makes the most sense to me. They tried to reel in Watson but the lure of his hometown seems too much to overcome. So, they still have Mayfield on contract and unless they can get a better QB, I think it makes sense to make him play out his contract. As distasteful as it may seem to him now, he's going to have to strap on his helmet and play. He is a competitor and I believe he will play for his teammates. He hands the ball off to a guy like Nick Chubb. Chubb deserves everyone's best effort. Joel Bitonio blocks for him. He deserves Mayfield's best effort. Go down the roster and there are guys like that at every position. His feelings are hurt. So what.

ESPN's Adam Shefter reported a couple of hours ago that the Browns have been informed they are out of the running. The only team not in the NFC South is no longer in contention. From a competitive point of view, Watson would have an easier time getting to a Super Bowl in the NFC than in the AFC, and on top of that, the AFC North has two top tier QBs already and neither are named Ben.

Yes, at Cincinnati and at Cleveland, and in that order.

Apparently, Cleveland is still in the running this morning (3/17), even though Watson was in Atlanta into the evening meeting with Falcons team reps. It is being reported that he is "incredibly torn" about the decision. Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com also reports that the last time Watson played in Cleveland fierce winds off of Lake Erie wrecked the passing game with Watson throwing for 163 yards and a TD in a 10-7 loss for the Texans. If that day shapes his view of Cleveland, he won't be going to the Browns. Yet, they are still in the running. Personally, I don't want him in Cleveland due to the baggage, though he is an incredibly talented football player. I think he winds up in New Orleans because of the roster, location, and the winning history even though Sean Payton is no longer HC.

I left "prison" out of the choices too since he was not indicted. I personally think New Orleans or Carolina make the most sense for Watson. I understand if he wants to go to Atlanta and his hometown but they are not nearly as competitive as the other teams. Cleveland presents an opportunity to have a good surrounding cast with the immediate possibility to go deep into the playoffs. Cleveland believes they are just good quarterback play away from a Super Bowl. Watson is from the south and so going to Cleveland probably isn't attractive just from a climate perspective. But most people think this would make Cleveland very competitive.

The decision will be made soon. Which team will Watson choose to be traded to?

How many go out on top like that?! SB Champ and Walter Payton Man of the Year. He knows how to make an exit.

I did not. I missed the kick-off too. Then saw it all until the final whistle. Shut it off during the post-game interviews. Restricting the time for hiring and adding games to the season by reducing the number of preseason games erodes the quality of the game. I have a lot of respect for Dungy but don't think much of this thought for reasons stated before.

Does anyone know, has the Fritz Pollard Alliance suggested any changes in the way the NFL implements the Rooney Rule to improve its effectiveness? Has the Fritz Pollard Alliance addressed the allegations by Flores and others?

I admire your tenacity, but tanking the draft by getting such a late start evaluating players (both free agents and college) isn't going to help anyone. It won't happen.

Not involved in the overall discussion occurring now. I think you make a good point about making money over winning. I haven't decided whether I agree in some cases. But I do not think the Browns fit your theory. Jimmy Haslem, Billionaire from TN has spent a boatload of money in his first years of ownership. Not yacht-fulls of money but barges full of money. No way they have turned a profit in the years since he first bought the team in 2012. He has hired and fired more people than you can shake a stick at, all for the purpose of winning. He had two or three Head Coaches on the payroll at the same time because he had to finish paying their contract even though they no longer worked for the Browns. Haslem is trying really hard to win. As an aside, he also has a history of hiring minorities in top positions. Hue Jackson as Head Coach. Haslem hired Sashi Brown in 2013 and promoted him to Executive VP of Football Operations in 2016. Fired Brown in 2017 when the Browns were 0-12 in that season. The reason had to do with the tug of war between Brown and Hue Jackson, analytics vs old football guy. Haslem chose Jackson and fired Brown. Sashi Brown, however, deserves a lot of credit for getting the Browns lots of top draft picks providing the foundation for the increased talent level they now have. Haslem also hired Andrew Berry in 2020 to be the GM/Executive VP responsible for the 53-man roster. This was a rehire to the Browns from the Eagles after Berry worked for the Browns 2016-18 as VP of Player Personnel. Any way, the Browns don't fit your money over winning model... yet. While Haslem made a lot of mistakes early on, you can't question his commitment to win. His actions have backed up his words, and his money has backed up his mouth. Btw, the Browns just won the inaugural John B Wooten Award for workplace diversity, equality, and inclusion across the hierarchy, given by the Fritz Pollard Alliance.

In addition to what others have said regarding getting up to speed on the draft, etc., hiring one's own assistant coaches is a huge reason not to delay the hiring of a HC. Most Head Coaches want to hire their own set of assistants. The delay you suggests puts them way behind the eight ball in hiring assistants and makes getting together a good draft strategy even harder. Plus, some of the guys a new HC may want to pick could have been hired during that 6-week delay by existing head coaches on other teams who have a vacancy.

Hue Jackson's story is a harder sell. Browns' Owner Jimmy Haslem did everything he could (even if detrimental) to make Cleveland a winner. So much so, people had to tell him to stop trying so hard because he was getting in the way. Hue Jackson's implied accusations were pretty sketchy. He said he got paid a bonus when they weren't winning and he would have rather they used the money towards players. That's hardly an owner saying I'm giving this bonus to you because I wanted you to lose. Here's what Haslem had to say about Jackson's comments... “I can’t think of any individual that I’ve worked with over the past 45 years that I spent as much time trying to help be successful as I did Hue Jackson,” Haslam said in the exclusive interview with the News Sentinel. “His third year, when our roster began to pretty dramatically improve, the eight games he coached we were 2-5-1. After Hue was dismissed, we went 5-3.” I think these next comments are closer to the truth: “Hue Jackson has never ever accepted any responsibility for our record during that time period,” Haslam told the paper. “He’s been masterful at pointing fingers but has never accepted any blame. I have accepted a ton of blame, and rightfully so. There are a lot of things I could’ve done better. Hue has never accepted blame for one thing.” Jackson made a lot of excuses for losing while he was in Cleveland. The draft pick wasn't the one he wanted, the front office had too much power, etc. Haslem is saying Hue is still trying to rehabilitate his image after being unable to win in the NFL as a Head Coach. As one who has closely followed the Browns during the time period in question, Haslem's comments have the ring of truth.

As a rabid Browns fan, I choose to delay thinking about the scenario you suggest for a bit longer.

Congratulations to all the Bengals fans on this forum. I must admit at the beginning of the season the Bengals were the last team in the AFC North that I thought would be in position to go to the Super Bowl. But at the end of the season, my team is in the position I thought the Bengals would be in and the Bengals are in the position I thought my team had an outside shot at obtaining. It is remarkable how far the Bengals have come as a team this season. This Browns fan is rooting for the Bengals to win it all.

@futurecoach Well, this game proved your point about the decision Zac Taylor made going for a TD on 4th down twice instead of kicking the FG for the go ahead points in the Bengals regular season game against the Chiefs. I can't believe how many points were scored in such a short time by both teams between the Bills and Chiefs. If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have believed it. My hats off to you fc.

Before anyone tells me the NFL isn't getting soft, you have to first explain this... ? Tackled Air and Got Penalty

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RB D'Ernest Johnson had a nice game for the Browns: 25 carries, 123 yds, TD. At one point they handed him the ball 9 plays in a row. He was on Covid reserve all week and was activated on Saturday. QB Case Keenum interrupted his own presser following the game to ask Johnson what he did to stay ready this week. "A lot of little things on the side," he said, "push ups, band work, and running." D'Ernest is always ready. He has 75 carries on the year for 411 yards and a 5.5 ypc. He has the highest rushing rating by PFF on the season. And he leads the league in elusive rating. And he's been an effective kick returner when given the opportunity with a 25.1 yard average. He's a restricted free agent, meaning the Browns have the right of first refusal. But I think some teams will be interested. The Browns won't want to give him up. The Browns found him on the Orlando Apollos in Alliance of American Football league in 2019. As much as I like him on the Browns, I'd like to see him in a starting role and that would have to be somewhere else. He deserves it. Case Keenum seems to think so too.

What's the odds the Browns try to pick up AB in the offseason to replace OBJ as a deep threat for Mayfield next season? ?