Opinion: Deshaun Watson Won’t Be a Saint and That’s Awesome
Everyone knows the story by now.
In 2006, Drew Brees was a free agent and wasn’t completely sold on New Orleans, its football team or its new head coach. But one fateful night while giving Brees a tour, Sean Payton got lost in the Ninth Ward. The young quarterback saw the devastation from Hurricane Katrina and knew his calling was to help revive the city.
Brees wanted to be in New Orleans. He signed with the Saints that March and the rest is history.
Sixteen years later, Mickey Loomis, Payton’s successor Dennis Allen and the rest of the Saints Brain Trust found themselves pursuing Brees’ heir. A trade offer was made to the Houston Texans to acquire Deshaun Watson, a gifted 26-year-old good enough to lead the Saints to the promised land once again…and who is currently facing 22 civil lawsuits for various forms of sexual misconduct.
Because of Watson’s no trade clause, it was up to him where he would go, and all reports indicated the choice was down to New Orleans or Atlanta. Behind door number one: superstars Alvin Kamara, Michael Thomas, Marshon Lattimore; a winning culture; and organizational stability.
Behind door number two: A Falcons franchise with no elite players currently on its roster and whose greatest claim to fame is blowing a 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl.
Watson reportedly wanted to play for a winner. The correct choice was obvious, right? Yet all week, we waited for his decision.
And waited.
And waited.
And in the end, he chose the Cleveland Browns, ostensibly because they offered to give him the most guaranteed money in NFL history ($230 million over 5 years).
Deshaun Watson didn’t want to play for a winner. Deshaun Watson didn’t want to be in New Orleans.
Deshaun Watson wanted money.
Welcome to the NFL, where there are no rules and no one cares about your feelings. The man facing no fewer than 22 sexual misconduct claims just got the biggest payday the league has ever seen.
For the Bless You Boys, it’s a blessing. The team and its fans are free from the man who held the entire league hostage just to line his pockets. My Black and Gold B.S. co-host Sean Haspel worried that Watson’s presence in the locker room could have created the same kind of toxic culture that doomed the 7-9 teams of 2014, 2015 and 2016.
He very well may have been right.
It’s unfair that Loomis, Allen, Gayle Benson and whoever else was involved in this ill-fated courtship put the fan base in such an awkward position. Watson’s talent is a very tasty meal ticket, but the moral implications are difficult to face.
In the NFL arms race, Watson is a nuclear warhead. Having him in your arsenal likely means supremacy over your enemies, but his presence feels dirty. Deploying him is a borderline war crime.
It’s okay to be conflicted about it. I was. Thankfully, now we can move on and bask in having the moral high ground.
For some, the damage is done. As very astutely pointed out on the Saints Happy Hour Podcast, the Saints intended to acquire a radioactive player. They either didn’t care that he’s an accused serial perpetrator of sexual misconduct or they know something we don’t.
For others, it’s time to move on. It’s time to forget this ever happened and to never think about Watson ever again. He didn’t want to be here, after all.
The Saints get to keep Chauncey Gardner-Johnson (yay!), Cesar Ruiz (meh), all of their first round picks (yay!) and whatever else may have been involved in the trade talks.
It’s time to re-sign Jameis Winston and go get a stud receiver (or several) with all that cap space cleared to trade for Watson. The Saints are in the same place they were a week ago, which isn’t so bad, considering the rest of the NFC South is weaker than Carolina’s recruiting pitch.
Winston’s own checkered past was brought up while Saints Twitter got taken for a ride by Watson. But while Jameis has certainly had issues of his own, by all accounts he wants to win. He wants to be better. Hopefully, he still wants to be in New Orleans.
Regardless of what happens next in free agency, at least you can sleep guilt-free knowing Deshaun Watson won’t be representing our city any time soon.
