Hypothetically, What would you have done if Buffalo signed Deshaun Watson?

[EasternOHBillsFan]

8 hours ago, Ray Stonada said:

I’ve been spending time for work in Cleveland and found it a really cool place, with great food and stuff to do. This whole thing sucks for everyone there. The city’s national reputation is suffering from this due to one moronic family.

 

Ohio sucks in general now, so the actions of Haslem are just an example of how bad it is in this state right now, like a disease. So many people who are scumbags are in positions of power and making everything unbearable as time goes on. It's not worth it to my wife and I to stay here because of it.

Edited June 8, 2022 by EasternOHBillsFan

[WhoTom]

11 hours ago, Success said:

I've accepted a lot of bad behavior from players on my various teams, but this would be too much for me.

 

I wouldn't walk away permanently - but I wouldn't pull for them as long as he was on the team. 

 

^ This. And I'd put all of my Bills gear in storage until he was gone.

 

 

[eball]

It's really an impossible hypothetical because this goes against everything Beane and McDermott stand for so it's not even truly hypothetically possible.

 

In order to process this the Bills would need to have different people in charge of the organization.  Let's say this happened under Buddy Nix and Chan Gailey.  If so, then I do believe I'd turn in my Bills fandom card until Watson was gone.  It would kill me to do it, but at some point you've got to look at the human side of things and Watson is clearly a degenerate POS.

 

For the most part I root for the laundry, but I couldn't/can't/won't pull for Watson ever again.

 

[Royale with Cheese]

Pegula/Beane/McDermott are not Haslam.  Haslam knew there was a ton of baggage but didn't give a **** .  He wants to win regardless of the players conduct off the field...which is why he gave him that insane contract.  Haslam is slime, our FO isn't.  They are stand up people.

[Chicken Boo]

Continue on with my life as usual.  

[DabillsDaBillsDaBills]

Interesting hypothetical. I suppose I have to imagine an alternate universe where the Bills don't have Josh Allen at QB, Pegulas as owners, Beane as GM, or McDermott as HC. 

 

Let's pretend Ralph Wilson never passed and that our acting owner is Russ Brandon, GM is Whaley, Rex Ryan is HC, and QB has been a mix of Tyrod Taylor, Josh Rosen, and other career journeymen. 

 

In that universe I could live with trading for Watson. I wouldn't be thrilled with the moral aspect of it, but I'd be more upset that we traded 3x 1sts and guaranteed so much $$ to a guy that had already sat out for an entire season and had a potential gigantic suspension forthcoming. 

 

What Watson did is morally reprehensible, but there was a criminal investigation and he's not even facing charges. I could deal with that as a fan if it brought the Bills from NFL purgatory to being a legitimate Superbowl contender. 

 

How many Chiefs fans jumped ship after drafting/trading for Hill/Clark ? How many people on here still like Lesean Mccoy (he never faced charges either even though he's a well documented piece of crap as a person) ?

[JakeFrommStateFarm]

I would permanently renounce my Bills fanhood.

[Buffalo Boy]

    Easy to arm chair QB an stand up on a soapbox but I can honestly say I would quit following them!

   A Lombardi with him would be the absolute worst🤮

[gordong]

Thank god daily we never had to even think it was possible…. I feel bad for browns fans they have been screwed over for years by that org… the strongest message they could send is don’t go to the games… he has put the nfl in an impossible position he should be suspended indefinitely and ever case is is found liable for should be 1 year suspension….  He’s a low life pos lier. 

Edited June 8, 2022 by gordong

[Ethan in Cleveland]

I'd watch college football and do woodworking on Sundays. If not for the Bills I'm not sure I would follow NFL anymore. That's more of an answer if the Bills left Buffalo. If they signed Watson or any other player ith these accusations knowingly I would probably pause on following them. 

I like others tend to think Beane and McD wouldn't sign this type of player. But those that say Beane has a moral compass or something like that don't really know. He tried to sign Antonio Brown when it was known he had issues in Pittsburgh.  Both McD and Beane kept Incognito on the team and playing after he started drinking again.  Knowing he was drinking again Beane still offered Incognito a contract albeit as a salary cut.

Beane and McD stood by Dodson after being suspended for domestic abuse. They signed Trent Murphy a known PED cheat.  Again while I believe there are lines such as acquiring a guy like Watson that Beane and McDermott would not cross, neither of those guys are altruistic saints.

[GunnerBill]

10 minutes ago, Ethan in Portland said:

I'd watch college football and do woodworking on Sundays. If not for the Bills I'm not sure I would follow NFL anymore. That's more of an answer if the Bills left Buffalo. If they signed Watson or any other player ith these accusations knowingly I would probably pause on following them. 

I like others tend to think Beane and McD wouldn't sign this type of player. But those that say Beane has a moral compass or something like that don't really know. He tried to sign Antonio Brown when it was known he had issues in Pittsburgh.  Both McD and Beane kept Incognito on the team and playing after he started drinking again.  Knowing he was drinking again Beane still offered Incognito a contract albeit as a salary cut.

Beane and McD stood by Dodson after being suspended for domestic abuse. They signed Trent Murphy a known PED cheat.  Again while I believe there are lines such as acquiring a guy like Watson that Beane and McDermott would not cross, neither of those guys are altruistic saints.

 

Yea the Incognito example is the closest thing I could relate this too. I can't stand the guy. I think he is a racist, homophobic bully and while he was certainly not accused of physical assaults in the same way as Watson there was some horrific violent sexual imagery used in his bullying of Jonathan Martin. I never once rooted for him while he was a Bill. But it didn't stop me rooting for the team. I get it Watson's situation is more serious and it is easier to root for the team and just not root for a guard than it is to root for the team and not root for a Quarterback given how closely Quarterback play correlates to wins. But being honest with myself I don't think I'd stop watching the games or rooting for the team and being invested in its success. I'd just make sure to do what I did with Richie and divorce the individual from the laundry. 

Edited June 8, 2022 by GunnerBill

[gobillsinytown]

I live in Youngstown, about an hour from Cleveland, so lots of Browns fans here.  Some have been very put off by the signing, and some have not.  Like others have said here, I feel bad for Browns fans, because their loyalty to the team would be better served with an owner who understands that the NFL is by far the most popular professional sport in the country, and that how teams conduct themselves is going to have an impact beyond wins and losses.  And while I understand that he owns the team with the idea of winning a championship, there are limits in how you get there.  Even if one were to believe that Watson's actions are greatly exaggerated and that the lawsuits against him are a money grab, the team can't just simply unplug itself from the community around it.  Haslam's actions are erratic at best, so I'm wondering if the pressure to sign Watson came directly from him.

[T master]

I would have felt the same way i did the day i heard the Bills would not resign or traded away Bruce, Thurman, & Andre WTF ...

[teef]

i'd buy 2 watson jerseys and make my wife and daughter wear them.  

[ddaryl]

1 minute ago, teef said:

i'd buy 2 watson jerseys and make my wife and daughter wear them.  

And send them to masseuse school.

[PrimeTime101]

whole question is silly... We would back our QB... Watson would get us in the playoffs (not ever having Allen of course) Watson would take his licks and we would go on having a fine QB... something we didnt have for how many years?

[ddaryl]

4 minutes ago, PrimeTime101 said:

whole question is silly... We would back our QB... Watson would get us in the playoffs (not ever having Allen of course) Watson would take his licks and we would go on having a fine QB... something we didnt have for how many years?

 

Most of us would be acting like Cleveland fans are acting now.  A bit betrayed, and disgusted

[eball]

25 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Yea the Incognito example is the closest thing I could relate this too. I can't stand the guy. I think he is a racist, homophobic bully and while he was certainly not accused of physical assaults in the same way as Watson there was some horrific violent sexual imagery used in his bullying of Jonathan Martin. I never once rooted for him while he was a Bill. But it didn't stop me rooting for the team. I get it Watson's situation is more serious and it is easier to root for the team and just not root for a guard than it is to root for the team and not root for a Quarterback given how closely Quarterback play correlates to wins. But being honest with myself I don't think I'd stop watching the games or rooting for the team and being invested in its success. I'd just make sure to do what I did with Richie and divorce the individual from the laundry. 

 

I don't think this is feasible when you're talking about the most visible and important person on the team.  He's the centerpiece of every win.  He gets all the interviews.

 

No way.

 

[corta765]

Honestly take a step back and stop buying anything. IDK if I would fully stop watching as its hard just with media coverage, but basically I would do what I did to the Sabres for 2-3 years until this year and act like they don't exist and it isn't changing. He is a monster and predator who should be in a jail cell and I wouldn't want him, so it would be a tough bunch of years basically not being a fan but so it would be.

 

People bring up Vick but he legit served his time. If the Bills signed him fine, he paid his punishment at that point and he did seem to actually rehab himself as a person.

[Royale with Cheese]

26 minutes ago, gobillsinytown said:

I live in Youngstown, about an hour from Cleveland, so lots of Browns fans here.  Some have been very put off by the signing, and some have not.  Like others have said here, I feel bad for Browns fans, because their loyalty to the team would be better served with an owner who understands that the NFL is by far the most popular professional sport in the country, and that how teams conduct themselves is going to have an impact beyond wins and losses.  And while I understand that he owns the team with the idea of winning a championship, there are limits in how you get there.  Even if one were to believe that Watson's actions are greatly exaggerated and that the lawsuits against him are a money grab, the team can't just simply unplug itself from the community around it.  Haslam's actions are erratic at best, so I'm wondering if the pressure to sign Watson came directly from him.

 

I'm 100% it was Haslam to sign Watson.  If the rumors are true that his scouts were basically begging him not to draft Manziel but he let it go in one ear and out the other.  I honestly can see his staff finding out a ton of baggage but Haslam ignored it and made sure they got him over Atlanta....he didn't care.

[GunnerBill]

9 minutes ago, eball said:

 

I don't think this is feasible when you're talking about the most visible and important person on the team.  He's the centerpiece of every win.  He gets all the interviews.

 

No way.

 

 

I wouldn't watch his pressers. I'm just being honest I don't think I could divorce myself from the team. One of my local pro soccer clubs where I played growing up and had a season ticket for 2 years as a teen it turned out had been complicit in sexual abuse of young boys by a former coach and tried to sweep it under the carpet. I tried to cut off from them for a bit and I can't do it. Too invested, too ingrained in me. I detest the administration of the club that allowed it to happen, but I still cheer for the laundry. With the Bills the only comparison is Incognito. And again I cheered for the laundry and drew the line at him. Maybe I'd feel different but I have tried to cut myseld off from a team I am heavily invested in and I couldn't. I doubt I could for the Bills either.

[Rico]

Still cheer for the Bills.

 

I would also cheer for anyone in the stands who would bounce batteries off his fat head.  

[FilthyBeast]

Probably the same thing a lot of Browns fans will and realize it's pretty much a death knell to the franchise.

 

This just shows the fine line between a fluke and real success (in terms of looking at the trajectory of the Bills and Browns the last few years).

 

Browns are so desperate to stay relevant after ending their own extensive playoff drought a few  years ago they didn't want to believe it may have been a fluke so they essentially made a deal with the devil so to speak in terms of what they gave up for Watson  both in draft capital and contract wise.

 

And I still think it's ridiculous as I don't view Watson as a clear massive upgrade over Mayfield which many seem to think is the case. Not arguing he's not better because he is but considering the aforementioned cost and the baggage that's clearly not going away it's truly a head scratcher.

[MJS]

I'd be confused. We have our QB already.

[BillsPride12]

47 minutes ago, PrimeTime101 said:

whole question is silly... We would back our QB... Watson would get us in the playoffs (not ever having Allen of course) Watson would take his licks and we would go on having a fine QB... something we didnt have for how many years?

Tone Deaf 

[frostbitmic]

I was disappointed they didn't draft him ... I've been glad they didn't since we got Tre' and then JA17.

 

As far as signing him, and to the contract they gave him despite his legal issues, the Browns are a joke. Unless he wins them a Super Bowl.

[eball]

34 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I wouldn't watch his pressers. I'm just being honest I don't think I could divorce myself from the team. One of my local pro soccer clubs where I played growing up and had a season ticket for 2 years as a teen it turned out had been complicit in sexual abuse of young boys by a former coach and tried to sweep it under the carpet. I tried to cut off from them for a bit and I can't do it. Too invested, too ingrained in me. I detest the administration of the club that allowed it to happen, but I still cheer for the laundry. With the Bills the only comparison is Incognito. And again I cheered for the laundry and drew the line at him. Maybe I'd feel different but I have tried to cut myseld off from a team I am heavily invested in and I couldn't. I doubt I could for the Bills either.

 

I hear you, and believe me, it would kill me, but watching the game would mean having to root for the QB to make plays.  There's no avoiding him.  I don't want Deshaun Watson to have an ounce of success in anything, ever, after he has done what he's done and yet stands up and says he has "no regrets."  In one deposition transcript I read he had the gaul to say he "doesn't know why he is here."

 

It crosses every line.  The day the Bills bring someone like that in is the day I decide sports doesn't matter as much -- at least not the NFL -- until my team wisens up.

 

I'm pulling for the Browns to go 0-17 and hope a wayward drone crashes into the owner's box and disfigures Jimmy Haslem.

 

[PrimeTime101]

53 minutes ago, ddaryl said:

 

Most of us would be acting like Cleveland fans are acting now.  A bit betrayed, and disgusted

really? cause i checked out their forums yesterday.. they upset at him doing it but betrayed? Disgusted? naw.. for most part they just want to move on from it and win championships. and they feel with Watson they can do that.

[mjd1001]

The thing I don't get about Watson is....the NFL could just ban him from the league, suspend him long term....just like they could have done with a few other players in the past...and it would have a minimal impact on the game or their revenues.  If Watson wasn't in the NFL at all, how many people would stop watching? Very few.  Its not even like they need or 'want' any story (good or bad) to keep the league in the news.  it pretty much is already in the news most of the time.

 

Personally, I'll root against him and that team now.  And if Cleveland happens to go to the playoffs and they are winning big, I'll just turn the game off because I don't/won't want to watch him succeed.  I'm guessing there are others that feel in a similar way.

Edited June 8, 2022 by mjd1001

[Simon Says]

Your whole premise got off on the wrong foot....the Browns TRADED for Watson. Bills would nit have given up draft choices or signed this clown to a huge contract . Especially since they already had Allen,this is pointless conjecture.

[Nextmanup]

14 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

Cannot even imagine this occurring with this regime. 

Yeah, but that's not the question.

 

It's a thought experiment.

 

 

14 hours ago, Success said:

I've accepted a lot of bad behavior from players on my various teams, but this would be too much for me.

 

I wouldn't walk away permanently - but I wouldn't pull for them as long as he was on the team.  

 

 

I think I would still follow the team and want to see them be successful, but I would be as vocal as I could be about my unhappiness with the choice of QB.  

 

I'd try to ban together with everyone to put pressure on the organization to get rid of the guy, and maybe even the guys who thought it was a good idea to acquire him too.

 

 

[BillsPride12]

6 minutes ago, Georgie said:

Your whole premise got off on the wrong foot....the Browns TRADED for Watson. Bills would nit have given up draft choices or signed this clown to a huge contract . Especially since they already had Allen,this is pointless conjecture.

He specifically stated Hypothetically...under that context it's a fair conversation 

[Clyde Smith]

14 hours ago, qwksilver said:

Become a Saints fan until him and the people responsible for him being on the team were gone. If I didn't learn to love the Saints, NFL would be removed from Sundays for a long time. 

Because it looks like a orange jail uniform or its the Browns or both?

Taint brown 

[Rocky Landing]

https://www.theonion.com/deshaun-watson-rethinks-life-choices-after-finding-self-1849004731

[AuntieEm]

13 hours ago, TheBrownBear said:

I'd stop watching until the GM/ownership group left or until they fixed the situation.  I wouldn't root for another team.  Just play more golf on fall Sundays.

 

Yea I would boycott the Bills and I would have serious questions on the ownership which I can happily say I don't believe would ever allow such a transaction to take place.  We really do have an ownership that was actually just one of us back in the glory days when they were just fellow WNYers cheering on the Sabres and Bills.  I just cannot see Terry or Kim ever allowing such a player to be signed to the team.  

[GunnerBill]

2 hours ago, eball said:

 

I hear you, and believe me, it would kill me, but watching the game would mean having to root for the QB to make plays.  There's no avoiding him.  I don't want Deshaun Watson to have an ounce of success in anything, ever, after he has done what he's done and yet stands up and says he has "no regrets."  In one deposition transcript I read he had the gaul to say he "doesn't know why he is here."

 

It crosses every line.  The day the Bills bring someone like that in is the day I decide sports doesn't matter as much -- at least not the NFL -- until my team wisens up.

 

I'm pulling for the Browns to go 0-17 and hope a wayward drone crashes into the owner's box and disfigures Jimmy Haslem.

 

 

I get it. I am just not sure even if I tell myself that was what I'd want I'd actually be able not to root for the team on Sundays. 

[Don Otreply]

14 minutes ago, BUFFALOBART said:

He swept 'Spygate' under the rug, so I am not so sure that owners were on board with something that may have impacted them in a negative manner.

He does their bidding, they all wanted it to go away asap, remember for these guys the gravy train is the most important thing, the last thing any of them wanted was for politicians to start to get involved with their special tax status/monopoly, it was in all off their best interest to make it go away as soon as possible. Note that not one owner speaks of it, its like it never happened…,

[Albany,n.y.]

Fortunately, since we drafted Josh in 2018, the hypothetical was never possible.  If we had drafted Rosen, by now I'd probably be willing to take on Watson, although I wouldn't have agreed with giving that many top draft choices away.  I never care about players salaries (they're doing something I can't do & I'm willing to pay to see them perform), so the contract wouldn't have been a factor.  For the record I was all for signing Vick when the Bills were contemplating it.   Players come & go, the team is forever. 

 

1st off, I don't believe in boycotts, so I definitely wouldn't start now.  I root for the team, not many individuals on their own.  I've been to 262 Bills games over the last 49 years, so I wouldn't drop the team now.  There have been a few players that I have rooted for the team while they played on it who have been pretty bad actors off the field.  Obviously OJ turned out to be the worst post Bills career.  I didn't go & burn any programs that OJ was in.  While he was on the Bills, I thought Richie Incognito was the biggest dirtbag I can remember as an active player-and we acquired the bum TWICE!  I didn't see many fans jump ship when we signed Richie. We once signed an addict when he came out of prison (Reggie Rogers for vehicular homicide.)  He eventually died because of his addictions.   Moulds had a domestic violence incident when he was a Bill.  Bennett went to jail for a sexual assault in Buffalo after his playing days.  The list is too long to continue, you get the point.  

 

So, in all honesty, I'd continue to root for the Bills & hope for a Super Bowl win no matter how low an opinion I had about any player off the field.  

 

Edited June 8, 2022 by Albany,n.y.

[machine gun kelly]

It’s not just McBeane never ever bringing in a guy with his off the field resume, but in reading page 1 at least, Kim Pegula would never sign off on this pick nor would Terry.  Terry may be a shrewd business man, but he’s not stupid or desperate.

[In Summary]

Re OP, I'd have stopped following the Bills until character was once again a priority.