The Cleveland Browns’ decision to trade for Deshaun Watson has come back to haunt them.
Watson isn’t particularly the most popular player in the National Football League right now, and his subpar play hasn’t done much to help his case.
On top of that, watching Baker Mayfield blossom somewhere else has been another big blow to the face of the Browns’ organization.
That’s also why Chris Oldach of ESPN Cleveland thinks some fans are actually rooting against the team.
Talking on “The Really Big Show,” Oldach stated that it seemed like some fans wanted Watson to play poorly, so they were right when they claimed the team shouldn’t have given up on Mayfield.
To be fair, Mayfield deserved better.
He had led the team to a playoff win and had done his thing despite having multiple offensive coordinators.
So, even if he wasn’t a star by any means, perhaps they should’ve handled the situation better and traded him before acquiring Watson.
Also, trading for a player tangled up in such a complicated legal situation would come with plenty of backlash; it’s naive to think otherwise.
Add that massive contract extension they gave him to the mix and it just got a whole lot worse.
At the end of the day, the fans will always want what’s best for their team, even if that means taking a long-term approach and enduring some tough years in the present.
And unless Watson turns things around and plays very, very well, some people will just never root for him.
