ESPN’s “bold” Browns prediction is illogical even if many fans would like it

Trading for Justin Fields, despite his Ohio State history, makes no sense

The Cleveland Browns tied their fates to QB Deshaun Watson a few years ago and nothing has changed about that. Watson was suspended for 11 games in 2022 and hurt most of 2023 but showed some signs of progress.

The scuttle around the NFL Combine is that other teams saw enough to believe that the Browns quarterback will at least be good moving forward even if he doesn’t reach his previous high-end play. Cleveland also restructured Watson’s contract last offseason which pushes more of his fully guaranteed money into future years.

Needless to say, the Browns and Watson are paired up for the foreseeable future which makes ESPN’s Seth Walder’s “bold prediction” of trading for QB Justin Fields quite silly:

This is a wild one, I know. But if I were the Browns, I would look at Deshaun Watson as mostly a sunk cost and try to upgrade at quarterback. With no first-round pick and so much money already heading Watson’s way, this would be tough to do. But trading a second- or third-round pick for Fields (still on his rookie contract) is feasible, and I’d like to see Fields in Kevin Stefanski’s offense. The alternative is simply hoping that Watson improves and, if not, wasting another year of a talented roster.

Why is it silly?

The “sunk cost” means the team either has him count $64 million against the salary cap or $137 million to move on from him. There is also the idea of trading a second or third-round pick with a decision on Fields’ fifth-year option due in May.

With many Cleveland fans also being Ohio State Buckeyes fans, adding Fields would likely be welcomed. Given Watson’s struggles on the field, legal issues off the field and big contract, moving on from him has been the hope of a lot of fans as well.

“Bold” predictions without being rooted in some logic aren’t bold, it’s silly even if some fans and media might like to think about it being possible.