BEREA, Ohio. On Thursday, the Cleveland Browns were informed that they were no longer bidding to sign Deshawn Watson in a trade with the Houston Texans, a team source told ESPN.
The Browns met with Watson Tuesday in Houston and tried to convince the quarterback to waive his no-trade clause to play for them. But instead, Watson eliminated the Browns from the fight, leaving the New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, and Atlanta Falcons as the remaining prominent contenders for Watson for now.
Watson did not play last season due to an off-season trade request and 22 civil lawsuits against him for alleged sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior during massage sessions. But a Texas grand jury refused to indict Watson on a felony charge last Friday, signaling the end of a related criminal case in Harris County and the start of trade talks between Texans and interested teams.
Earlier Thursday, the Saints took several steps to gobble up Watson’s $35 million salary in a potential deal, ESPN’s source told Field Yates, restructuring the contracts of quarterback Tysomem Hill, defensemen Bradley Robey and Malcolm Jenkins, and linebacker Demario Davis to leave team from $29.9. million in the space cap.
Watson’s decision puts the Browns in a difficult position with incumbent quarterback Baker Mayfield. As Cleveland officials returned from Tuesday night’s Watson meeting, Mayfield released a statement on social media thanking the city of Cleveland and its fans “who really accepted me for who I am.”
“With many uncertainties, this is where my head and heart are,” Mayfield wrote as an introduction to his message, which he addressed to Cleveland and posted on his Instagram and Twitter accounts.
1 related
Now the Browns must decide whether they will try to reconcile with Mayfield or trade the former first pick and try to acquire another quarterback. A team source said the Browns would prefer to continue with Mayfield.
A source told ESPN that Mayfield and his supporters learned of Cleveland’s meeting with Watson through social media. However, Browns general manager Andrew Berry had privately told Mayfield’s camp earlier in the offseason that, according to several sources, they could go after the top quarterback if he showed up.
Both Berry and head coach Kevin Stefansky have said multiple times this offseason that Mayfield will remain Cleveland’s starting quarterback until last month.
Before meeting with the Browns on Tuesday, Watson answered questions about two of the 22 lawsuits filed against him during his current testimony, plaintiffs’ lawyer Tony Buzzby told KHOU 11. two sessions of testimony that began on Friday.
Mayfield had a tumultuous tenure in Cleveland, where he played under four head coaches during his first three seasons in the league. But the 2017 Heisman Trophy winner led Cleveland to their first playoff win in 26 years during the 2020 campaign and finished in the league’s top 10 in the QBR.
Mayfield suffered a torn upper lip in his non-throwing shoulder in the second week of last season and struggled to the end, finishing 27th in the QBR as the Browns missed the playoffs and finished with a disappointing 8-9 record.
Mayfield, who underwent surgery to repair his upper lip on Jan. 19 and is expected to be fully cleared well before training camp, is entering the final year of his rookie deal that will net him $19 million in 2022.