An article from Browns news outlet Dawg Pound Daily gained major traction the other day after it posted an article whose author urged Cleveland to strongly consider buying a lotto ticket into the Deshaun Watson sweepstakes for a potential trade. I think it also got discussed on First Take, but I’m not totally sure.

Here’s the link: https://dawgpounddaily.com/2021/01/28/cleveland-browns-deshaun-watson-7/

Watson, upset with the mess that his franchise has become, requested a trade earlier this week, generating a cavalcade of rumors and assessments from nearly every NFL team about the possibility of joining the race for the young star QB.

Early trade partner favorites include the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins for the value of picks they can offer Houston, with some dark horse teams also staking their claim. And as we’ve seen in every major sport, when a guy of this caliber makes himself available, a lot of teams will get involved, or at least entertain the idea of it.

This is where the article comes in.

It detailed how Baker Mayfield is treated a little too sweetly by Browns fans, despite breaking the franchise’s 17-year playoff drought. It went on to point out a guy with Watson’s unprecedented skillset would cover the Browns in other lacking areas, and although he might cost them a lot of money up front, in the long run he would be able to mask any shortcomings along the way with his abilities. Lastly, it questioned whether or not Cleveland is truly convinced Baker is the team’s savior after just one full season of success.

In classic Mat McKenzie, devil’s advocate fashion, of course I agree and disagree with the article.

As stated, whenever a proven, potential top-5 or top-10 guy at his position, makes it known he wants out of his current situation, at bare minimum, you ask that team’s general manager what his asking price would be.

We saw a similar situation a few seasons ago in the NBA with Anthony Davis. Once AD made it known he wanted out of New Orleans, every team with half a brain called in seeing what it would hypothetically take; teams that didn’t necessarily need him, teams with limited cap space, teams with a sparse trade packages, they still made the call to feel things out.

Because at the end of the day, it is Anthony freaking Davis. So same scenario here.

The idea is that you never know the true severity of the relationship’s broken status, or how invested that team is in some of the guys other GM’s have on the table. Deals in major sports fall through all the time for various reasons, so at least adding your name into the pot is never a bad move.

Even if you have no intention of entertaining their response, you still send that Facebook poke to test the waters, because it is, indeed, Deshaun freaking Watson.

He’s only 25 years old, throws, runs, and is as genuinely an awesome individual as he is a genuinely awesome quarterback.

Of course Deshaun Watson is a better quarterback than Baker Mayfield at this moment in time. And yes, adding him to your roster immediately makes you immensely better because he’s that good.

But the article loses me on the fact that it seems to argue that the Browns should make the call with intent, rather than just survey the playing field.

Mayfield has finally shown us the guy we fell in love with at Oklahoma has arrived in the NFL, under a coaching staff that’s actually competent, and a front office who realized, “Hey, let’s get some guys to defend this dude ‘cuz, he’s pretty good when he isn’t running for his life every snap.”

They nearly snuck past the unbeatable Kansas City Chiefs despite a lackluster defense and numerous injury-plagued playmakers on both sides of the ball being mere spectators.

Yes, I’m aware Mahomes’ health played a giant factor in that game even being close, but the point still stands.

And Mayfield and company are only going to get better the more traction they gain together as a unit, so why rush a break up that’s potential bad outcomes outweigh the good?

Let’s say you trade for Watson and take on his salary. Your defense’s holes are glaring, and no matter how good your offense becomes under Watson, teams like the Chiefs or the Buffalo Bills are here to stay in the AFC, and you aren’t going to outscore either of them when they’re at full strength. Not to mention the Ravens will continue to give you headaches in your own division, and no matter what happens to the Steelers, their main goal in life will always be to make the Browns’ existence a suffered one.

It’s also going to cost you some pretty choice draft picks, gutting any chances of filling current holes on the roster via the draft, in which Andrew Berry has shown great prowess in picking up solid contributors deep into rounds. And, of course, there’s the obligatory, “What if he gets hurt” scenario in which you give up a plethora of assets and an unfortunate, freak accident either ends a career or completely 180’s a guy’s production and gameplay, and you’re worse off with little to help fix things.

The flip side would be Deshaun somehow leads them to the Super Bowl and wins it all for one of sports’ most tortured franchises, and whatever becomes of Mayfield in Houston, good or bad, is irrelevant because you won it all, unless he wins more rings as a Texan, overall has a better career, etc.

All those things considered, again, I say no.

Let Mayfield, Nick Chubb, and crew continue to marinate under Kevin Stefanski, so the revolving door of Browns quarterbacks can finally settle and Cleveland can keep feeling good about themselves and their players for awhile.

Because their picks and assets aren’t nearly as valuable as the aforementioned teams’ packages, the trade would cost them a fortune if it even got that far. It’s just almost inconceivable the Texans would go for Mayfield, potentially broken OBJ, and some of our later picks over Tua, #3, #18, etc. from Miami or Darnold, #2, etc. from New York.

And finally, if a guy as currently beloved as Mayfield went on to greater success elsewhere when he could’ve done it in Cleveland, and at the end of it all we still end up with nothing to show for it, even the most die hard of the Browns faithful might not be able to forgive them for it.

So in the words of the great Randy Jackson: “It’s a no from me, dawg.”

Deshaun cooking the Steelers, matching Lamar Jackson’s run game, and leading some great Browns moments would be cool.

But I’ll hang with Baker and the Progressive commercials.

Also if any Browns fans who took to Twitter to scream at Dawg Pound Daily are reading the article find this, chill out. For the last time, when dudes like that are available, everybody at least makes an entry call. At its root, I believe that was truly the article’s objective. I think the questioning of Baker’s specialness and its overall tone made it seem like the trade was our best option was what set off some feelings. But anyways…

I’ll end the same way I did the last one:

Clean up the D, figure out the OBJ situation, and run it back.

I’m gunning for San Mateo’s finest Tom Brady and the Bucs next Sunday. Will never understand why a strong contingency of Niner fans out here hate him. He was a Niner fan growing up and went to Serra for God’s sake, we can’t show a little Bay Area love?

Gotta be something with the GOAT debate with him and Montana.

Plus, obviously eff the Chiefs for knocking out Cleveland, so yeah, do it Tompa Bay.

Cheers.