Did the NFL get played by the Browns and Deshaun Watson?

This story has been an interesting one. It has been on going for months, and I am sure you are sick of hearing about it. Well, I feel the Cleveland Browns and Deshaun Watson just did the NFL pretty dirty.

They were able to get the NFL to settle for 11 games, and a five million dollar fine, and that is not all.

They had Roger Goodell thinking Deshaun Watson was committed to changing.

In the memo released from the NFL, Goodell stated:

“Deshaun has committed to doing the hard work on himself that is necessary for his return to the NFL. This settlement requires compliance with a professional evaluation and treatment plan, a significant fine, and a more substantial suspension.”

It sounds really good until you hear Deshaun Watson talk to the reporters. Watson basically said he apologized for his mistakes just to get the NFL off his back. He said he takes accountability for the decisions he made, but then responds saying,

“I’ve always stood on my innocence and always said I’ve never assaulted anyone or disrespected anyone. I’m going to continue to stand on my innocence.”

So which one is it? The NFL thinks Watson and the Browns were admitting guilt and saying they were sorry, but they just wanted to wrap up the case and move on. Andrew Berry said he would make the trade again, and owner Jerry Haslam said he believes in second chances, only because it is his star quarterback.

The Browns really won this if you think about it. Watson was punished for 11 games, the NFL wanted him done the entire year. Watson gets to come back and play against the Texans in week 12. The Browns restructured his contract so he would only lose 422k dollars, and at the end of the day he gets a slap on the wrist.

If Watson did not do anything wrong, he should have never settled at all, but I can see why he did. He just wants to play football and he sat out all year in 2021 for the Texans. So he is literally missing two years of football. I bet he wants to get on the field, and will not care one bit if you boo him.