The sagas surrounding Jimmy Garoppolo and Deshaun Watson have run their courses concurrently through the 2022 offseason. Events in the near future could cause them to become more intertwined than they already have been.
Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports that the Browns will “consider acquiring” Garoppolo in the event that Watson’s suspension “significantly increases.” The latter received a six-game suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. That roughly matched what the Browns had been anticipating, leading many to believe they would turn to backup Jacoby Brissett to start the season.
As expected, however, the League has appealed the suspension. As it did during Watson’s disciplinary hearing, the NFL will again push for a one-year ban while it appeals to designated Peter Harvey. This process is expected to result in a significant increase in the number of games for which Watson will be unavailable. With the Browns built for immediate playoff contention, this would increase their level of urgency to acquire a more proven signal caller.
The possibility of Cleveland trading for Garoppolo is not new, of course. Last month, however, it was reported that the Browns were not considering a move to land the veteran 49er. Garoppolo, 30, has one year left on his current contract with a non-guaranteed salary of just over $24 million. That number has recently led to speculation that San Francisco will hold out as long as possible to see if any major trades materialize in the coming weeks.
At this point, NBC Sports’ Matt Maiocco confirms that it’s “unlikely at this point” for any team to trade Garoppolo without him negotiating a new contract that reduces his cap hit through 2022. The only potential exception to this, however, is still Cleveland; with nearly $49 million in cap space, the team could comfortably absorb Garoppolo’s contract and use him as a placeholder in Watson’s absence.
With the league looking to keep Watson sidelined during the preseason, an announcement about the appeal could come very soon. Once he does, attention will turn back to the Browns’ QB plans and where Garoppolo might fit into it.