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Update: The Texans will receive three first round picks and two later picks from the Browns, per Charles Robinson. At this point, it doesn’t appear that Baker Mayfield is part of the deal.
In a stunner, the Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans have come to an agreement on a trade for quarterback Deshaun Watson, per Ian Rapoport. Watson gets a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract. That is $80 million more than the previous record for fully guaranteed money, per Rapoport.
There is a good chance that Watson will end up spending some time out of the game with a suspension. The sheer number of allegations of sexual misconduct should demand that Watson faces some type of punishment from the league. How long that suspension is will determine what they will need from his backup, who will likely be Case Keenum.
There is no doubt that Watson is a special talent on the football field. He hasn’t played in a year, so there is also real chance that rustiness will be a problem, especially if a suspension keeps him out half of the season or more. This could be a lost season for the Browns even with the addition of Watson, but they now have their franchise quarterback. Of course, they also might have lost a good portion of their fans as well.