This former Cleveland Browns executive has opened up on the Deshaun Watson trade.
Back in 2016, the Cleveland Browns hired Paul DePodesta to be their chief strategy officer following his work as a front-office executive in the MLB.
The Browns were hoping DePodesta would bring an analytical approach to help get the franchise back on track, but after 10 years with the franchise, DePodesta didn't accomplish all that much and recently bolted to take a job with the Colorado Rockies.
The most memorable moment of DePodesta's tenure certainly came back in 2022, when he helped orchestrate a trade to bring Deshaun Watson to Cleveland.
The Browns parted with a stash of draft picks and infamously handed Watson a fully-guaranteed $230 million contract, a deal that is still haunting the team today and will likely further haunt the organization for years to come.
Upon leaving Cleveland, DePodesta was asked about the Watson trade, and he kind of, sort of shirked responsibility.
“Here’s what I would say, and I truly believe this,” DePodesta told Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post. “I believe that most of the decisions, especially the big ones like that, are organizational decisions, right? I’m not a believer in the ‘King Scout’ situation where there is one guy who makes every call."
Paul DePodesta. Credit: Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK.DePodesta went on to say that everyone needs to take accountability for the Watson move.
"The jobs are too complex, the decisions are too hard. They impact too many different things. So I always think these sort of collective decisions, it can be hard to get unanimous [opinions] on those types of things," he added. "Everyone who was a part of that? We all own that. We just do, that’s part of the deal."
That's definitely true, but DePodesta probably would have been better off explaining things from his individual perspective rather than throwing everyone else under the bus along with him.
But I get it. The Browns made the Watson decision as a collective. They felt that acquiring the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback from the Houston Texans — even though he did not play at all the season prior and was dealing with pretty serious legal issues at the time — was the right move, dumping Baker Mayfield in the process.
The worst part, though, was the contract the Browns gave Watson. It was unprecedented then, and it hasn't been repeated since.
Watson is still on Cleveland's roster, but we'll probably never see him play another snap for the Browns. You have to wonder if he will ever throw another pass anywhere else.