Holy hell. What a turn of events. Being a GM in the NFL has to feel like living in a soap opera. Per Schefty, the Browns will be giving Watson a new deal: 5 years, $230M – every penny guaranteed. It’s not clear if Baker is heading to Houston or not, but if he isn’t, it will be interesting to see if the Browns could land that deal with Houston AND be able to get another return for Baker.
Let me summarize the turn of events as best as I can: Watson was cleared of charges, teams started shopping for Watson, the Browns got involved, Baker got upset, the Browns were notified they were out of the running, Baker requested a trade, the Browns denied the request saying he was their guy, Watson changed his mind and now the Texans have traded their star QB to Cleveland. Phew.
Instantly, the Browns get a lot better, and the AFC North is now STACKED. Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, and Deshaun Watson (and Mitch Trubisky.) The Browns got a hell of a lot better almost overnight this off season, picking up Amari Cooper earlier this week as well. That offense is going to be SCARY.
Now that’s not to knock Baker. I think Baker can still be a good QB in the NFL, and I’m sure there are quite a few teams that would benefit from trading for him. Among them are the Watson runner ups, teams like Carolina, Atlanta, New Orleans, or even the Texans if he’s a part of the deal. But, and I hate to say this for any Colts fans who may be reading, I think the likeliest destination for Baker is Indy.
All of this just raises the stakes on the most important question of the off season: who will win the Jameis Winston Sweepstakes?
Hub World 