Last week, Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson made waves when he seemingly made a free-agent pitch to Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins.
“We wanna pass the ball. That’s what we gonna do. We gonna pass it a lot. And we gonna take good care of you,” Watson said on Quincy Avery’s podcast, as relayed by Sports Illustrated. “The Cleveland fans are gonna love you to death and we got the Clemson ties. We didn’t get to play with each other but this is our opportunity. So like man come on over to The Land.”
The One Thing Deshaun Watson Can Do to Rally the Cleveland Browns Fan Base
It’s always interesting when player play personnel directors with their own team. However, Deshaun Watson does have a point. The team absolutely does need a strong WR2. The unquestioned leader of the Browns wide receivers is Amari Cooper. He’s a big-body receiver who can play at all levels of the field. He specializes in outjumping any defender for the ball, which, given Watson’s improvisational instincts, works well.
In 2023, Cleveland also developed a strong slot option/third receiver in Elijah Moore. The Browns’ offense originally cast Moore as a gadget guy, a role to which he was ill-suited. As the offense simplified, he emerged as an athletic option who creates separation between the numbers.
Consider Higgins’ draft profile from 2020. He’s a straight-line receiver who creates mismatches outside the numbers and in the red zone. Seems like a solid compliment for Deshaun Watson to throw to between Cooper and Moore, doesn’t it?
Taking a Step Back
Deshaun Watson came to Cleveland amidst a lot of controversy. His off-the-field issues are considerable, but there’s nothing he can do to change the past, regardless of what happened. But there’s also his contract. Watson was given the largest guaranteed contract in NFL history upon his trade to Cleveland. The team guaranteed him nearly a quarter of a billion dollars.
Despite what most of the world seems to think (at least the loudest on social media), professional athletes earn their money. The NFL gets billions upon billions from television revenue every year. Their 30 stadiums draw 60,000 plus every week during the season. There are sponsors and endorsements. Now, the great debate should be about limiting prices, but capitalism is going to capitalize. Because it does, the players should get their piece. They’re the ones out there putting their bodies on the line.
Deshaun Watson is no different. The money was there, Watson was offered it, and he took it. He has no reason to feel bad about that.
How Deshaun Watson Can Make Tee Higgins Happen and Make Himself a Hero to the Cleveland Fan Base
If Deshaun Watson truly wants the Cleveland Browns fan base to love him, he should take a page out of the book of Tom Brady. For years, Brady took under-market deals with the New England Patriots to allow the team more funds to compete.
Deshaun Watson has earned $90 million for playing in 12 games. He’s shown flashes of brilliance, he’s shown some horrific decision-making, but mostly he’s been somewhere in between. That’s not what the Cleveland Browns have paid for.
For the Browns to get Tee Higgins, who they can not afford right now, it would probably cost them around $18 million a year. Watson could pay for it out of his pocket. Not that he should. Not that he owes anyone. But because if he truly wants a championship in Cleveland, he should do it.
Writing a $48 million check for a great player out of your own pocket is a heck of a gesture to the Cleveland hopeful. So would the championship ring that Watson and Higgins could bring to Northeast Ohio together.
