DeShaun Watson: Why the Browns should have passed

 DeShaun Watson was introduced to the media on Friday and as one would expect it was an uncomfortable affair filled with cliches' from Andrew Berry, Kevin Stefanski, and the Haslems along with a surprisingly defiant DeShaun Watson.

The trade does have some concerns and problems to consider and in order to be fair, here are some reasons that the Browns should not have pulled the trigger on DeShaun Watson.

The white elephant in the room is the allegations against Watson by the now-known twenty-two women.

While various grand juries have ruled not enough evidence existed to take any of the cases to the next stage, the allegations alone have placed the Browns in a very difficult state in acquiring Watson.

Watson's issues have placed the Browns and Watson directly in the sights of every sexual assault victims group, women's group, and many women in general.

Each of these groups will have its share of pull in media coverage but the biggest potential problem goes beyond the public relations hit that the team is taking and will continue to take for the foreseeable future.

The public relations on this may be very awkward and many Browns fans are stating that they have left the team for good but time will tell if DeShaun Watson's ability to lift the Browns to previously unseen levels will bring those fans back or not.

Will the addition of DeShaun Watson hurt the Browns in attracting free agents to Cleveland?

One could say that having a star of his caliber would help but it's also possible that it could hurt their pitch to prospective Browns.

We all have mothers, sisters, and daughters and in some cases, it could be tough to sell an important female that is close to a player that the Cleveland Browns are the type of organization that cares about the rights, etc of women when they give someone a pass due to his skill level.

I wouldn't sell this short as a potential factor in the future for at least an occasional Cleveland target that might get away.

And surprisingly there is a factor or two on the field that can make you think about this trade as well.

DeShaun Watson is a native of Georgia, played his college football in South Carolina, and has played his professional career in Texas under a retractable dome.

Watson played in a division with teams in Florida, Tennessee, and Indiana with Indiana inside a dome.

This means that Watson has played in at least eleven games every season in warm weather or inside a dome and it's not unfair to wonder how he could be affected by the wind off Lake Erie and the other games in the AFC North.

That could turn out to be a non-factor for Watson as many great cold weather QB's played in the South or West before going cold, Brett Favre (Mississippi) Aaron Rodgers (California), Bart Starr (Alabama), and Fran Tarkenton (Georgia) to name only a few success stories, so it may turn out to be a non-issue for Watson playing in the frosty conditions but it certainly is fair to question his capability until he proves that he can adjust to the less-than-perfect weather in the late season and potentially playoffs.

Another factor could be that Watson hasn't played in a year due to sitting out last season and could miss even more when the expected suspension comes down from the NFL.

I would be surprised if Watson played at his normal level right away but that is a short-term concern more than a long-term one and I'd be more concerned if he was an older quarterback going through the layoff.

An older quarterback could benefit from one year away from taking the punishment that comes with the game but that might help for that season but you lose a season of an aging player's remaining years.

I would think the time away might make a small difference in 2022 but shouldn't be a factor after that.

All of these are excellent arguments for why the Browns should not have acquired DeShaun Watson and you can make a strong point that the Browns as an organization shouldn't be employing someone with the accusations against Watson.

However, just as in real business it's all about money and in this case-winning.

The Cleveland Browns would have never had another chance to add an elite-level quarterback at twenty-seven (he turns 27 in September) and they sure weren't going discover Baker Mayfield suddenly getting to that level.

Sure, I don't like the accusations against DeShaun Watson and admittedly I'm a little concerned about an eventual Browns title meaning a little less under these circumstances.

Jimmy and Dee Haslam don't share those concerns.

They are running a business and for almost all of the last ten years of their ownership tenure, they have been downright awful at it- this is their chance to get right what they put wrong.

For their sake, they better get it right this time because if it doesn't, the Browns and the Haslems just may be beyond redemption.