The Jets are a mess. But they’re not the most hopeless franchise in the NFL
October 10, 2024
The Jets are a mess. But they’re not the most hopeless franchise in the NFL
12 comments
Cleveland Browns Ownership: Jimmy Haslam has been a consistent source of embarrassment for the league in courtrooms and on the field. Whenever he winds up offloading the Browns, his legacy will be as the owner who handed Deshaun Watson one of the worst contracts in sports history.
Coach: Kevin Stefanski has proven that he can build playoff-caliber offenses around Joe Flacco and Baker Mayfield, but he is on track to be the fall guy for Cleveland’s decision to cough up $230m and a bundle of draft picks for Watson.
Quarterback: Watson has been the worst starting quarterback in the league this season. That isn’t an opinion; it’s a fact. Among 31 eligible quarterbacks, he is last in adjusted EPA/play, a measure of down-to-down effectiveness. And yet the Browns are so wedded to Watson by dint of his contract that they’re unable to turn to Jameis Winston – who isn’t exactly perfect himself – for the rest of the season.
Hope for the future: There is none. Cleveland have the worst starter at the most valuable position on the field – and they’re paying him more than anyone else at the position. Watson is still owed $132m over the remaining three years of his contract, all of it guaranteed. Due to how the Browns restructured the quarterback’s contract last offseason, it would cost the team more to cut or trade him in the offseason, eating up roughly two-thirds of the team’s salary cap for next season. With Watson’s contract on the books, there is precious little the Browns can do to upgrade their roster. They’re unable to move on from the quarterback, and they’re running out of ways to finagle the salary cap without making things even more painful in the future. It is not hyperbole to say it’s the bleakest situation for any franchise in pro sports. And that’s before we get to the ethical questions of giving hundreds of millions of dollars to someone with serious allegations against him.
Hopelessness rating: 10/10. Full marks for the weight of the Watson contract, in football and moral terms. This stench will hang around the franchise for quite some time.
Browns bad. Water wet. More at noon.
Yea – we know
We make the Jets look like the early 2000 Patriots.
And the media and rest of the country rejoiced. I read last night in one of the baseball subs that the Guards implosion was kArMa fOr waTsOn….
How much do you think Woody Johnson paid for this?
Dude we’re not even playing the same sport
Accurate.
I’m glad the article led with the Jets, it softened the blow when our team came up. /s
Well anyway, at least there’s a fully-guaranteed contract and we’re not morally obligated to keep Watson in to keep his pay and bonuses upto acceptable levels to account for the typical shortness of an NFL career, there is that.
It seriously is unfair that we were the worst franchise in the NFL just 7 short years ago. Had a little success. And then we are probably F’d again for the next few years and right back to the bottom.
I get the reasons for taking a swing on Watson, but holy shit didn’t anyone in ownership or the FO ever think about “what if this doesn’t work?” Maybe we shouldn’t leverage our entire future on a scumbag?
We are going to be the league’s example of what not to do.
It’s very unfair. But that is life I guess.
Go Guards.
The whole “Watson stench” thing is overblown. Once the guy is gone, people will still bring it up, but it’s not actually going to matter. You don’t win games on “vibes”, and it’s another example of people who put way too much stock in what other fans think of your team.
Is he going to talk about the “morality” of the Chiefs keeping Rashee Rice or the Bills keeping Von Miller? No? Oh, right, because those teams are winning. This guy started from a preconceived conclusion are “The Browns are the worst because of Watson” and worked backwards from there, because he knows it would get clicks.
12 comments
Cleveland Browns
Ownership: Jimmy Haslam has been a consistent source of embarrassment for the league in courtrooms and on the field. Whenever he winds up offloading the Browns, his legacy will be as the owner who handed Deshaun Watson one of the worst contracts in sports history.
Coach: Kevin Stefanski has proven that he can build playoff-caliber offenses around Joe Flacco and Baker Mayfield, but he is on track to be the fall guy for Cleveland’s decision to cough up $230m and a bundle of draft picks for Watson.
Quarterback: Watson has been the worst starting quarterback in the league this season. That isn’t an opinion; it’s a fact. Among 31 eligible quarterbacks, he is last in adjusted EPA/play, a measure of down-to-down effectiveness. And yet the Browns are so wedded to Watson by dint of his contract that they’re unable to turn to Jameis Winston – who isn’t exactly perfect himself – for the rest of the season.
Hope for the future: There is none. Cleveland have the worst starter at the most valuable position on the field – and they’re paying him more than anyone else at the position. Watson is still owed $132m over the remaining three years of his contract, all of it guaranteed. Due to how the Browns restructured the quarterback’s contract last offseason, it would cost the team more to cut or trade him in the offseason, eating up roughly two-thirds of the team’s salary cap for next season. With Watson’s contract on the books, there is precious little the Browns can do to upgrade their roster. They’re unable to move on from the quarterback, and they’re running out of ways to finagle the salary cap without making things even more painful in the future. It is not hyperbole to say it’s the bleakest situation for any franchise in pro sports. And that’s before we get to the ethical questions of giving hundreds of millions of dollars to someone with serious allegations against him.
Hopelessness rating: 10/10. Full marks for the weight of the Watson contract, in football and moral terms. This stench will hang around the franchise for quite some time.
Browns bad. Water wet. More at noon.
Yea – we know
We make the Jets look like the early 2000 Patriots.
And the media and rest of the country rejoiced. I read last night in one of the baseball subs that the Guards implosion was kArMa fOr waTsOn….
How much do you think Woody Johnson paid for this?
Dude we’re not even playing the same sport
Accurate.
I’m glad the article led with the Jets, it softened the blow when our team came up. /s
Well anyway, at least there’s a fully-guaranteed contract and we’re not morally obligated to keep Watson in to keep his pay and bonuses upto acceptable levels to account for the typical shortness of an NFL career, there is that.
It seriously is unfair that we were the worst franchise in the NFL just 7 short years ago. Had a little success. And then we are probably F’d again for the next few years and right back to the bottom.
I get the reasons for taking a swing on Watson, but holy shit didn’t anyone in ownership or the FO ever think about “what if this doesn’t work?” Maybe we shouldn’t leverage our entire future on a scumbag?
We are going to be the league’s example of what not to do.
It’s very unfair. But that is life I guess.
Go Guards.
The whole “Watson stench” thing is overblown. Once the guy is gone, people will still bring it up, but it’s not actually going to matter. You don’t win games on “vibes”, and it’s another example of people who put way too much stock in what other fans think of your team.
Is he going to talk about the “morality” of the Chiefs keeping Rashee Rice or the Bills keeping Von Miller? No? Oh, right, because those teams are winning. This guy started from a preconceived conclusion are “The Browns are the worst because of Watson” and worked backwards from there, because he knows it would get clicks.
Ngl. We deserve that shit.