Browns linked to another terrible idea for replacing Deshaun Watson

No matter how you try to spin it, Deshaun Watson can't be traded. He could waive his non-trade clause and there still wouldn’t be a team in the NFL desperate enough to take on that contract with the way he’s played since arriving in Cleveland. 

Not even Madden would let you make that trade. But there are still some fans eager to throw any possibility around, including a deal between the Browns and the Atlanta Falcons to send Watson to the south, Kirk Cousins to Cleveland to be reunited with Kevin Stefanski and restructuring everything to work within the cap. 

As good as it sounds on paper for the Browns, it will never work. Watson is a bigger problem than just his play on the field. He divided a Cleveland Browns fan base because of his lawsuits. No owner wants to deal with those problems.

Cleveland has no option with Watson other than to have a weekly reminder of the terrible business, football and ethical decision they made when they offered that ridiculous contract. 

No trade proposition will make the Deshaun Watson situation better, nor erase the damage he did

The damage is already done so at this point the Browns just need to ride out the next year with Watson and hope maybe they get one good year. And truthfully, going after Kirk Cousins doesn’t really solve the quarterback issue. 

Sure you get a proven starter and a year to use him as a bridge quarterback, but if the Browns manage to do enough to get to the playoffs in a hypothetical move for Cousins, who is he the bridge quarterback for? 

If you want to win now, why waste a pick on a quarterback when you could get a true wide receiver No. 1, or upgrade the offensive line, or get reinforcements for the defensive line, or upgrade the secondary?

The Cleveland Browns have plenty of holes to address. So adding a quarterback now doesn’t solve all their issues, it just solves one of them. 

Cleveland’s season truly couldn’t be much worse. The good thing is they don’t have the No. 1 pick so they don’t have the pressure to make a move that might not benefit them long-term. But with so many things to address, this offseason should be about implementing a two-to-three year rebuild to turn things around from the top down.

Because this roster construction has made it clear they aren’t in the win-now position they once thought they were. Last Sunday’s embarrassing loss to New Orleans proved that.