Off-season thoughts (Vol. XVII)

For the better part of Friday's news conference that introduced Deshaun Watson to the media and Browns Nation, it looked and sounded like nothing one would expect for welcoming an elite National Football League quarterback. 

It was supposed to announce the signing of a fully-guaranteed $230 million contract that binds Watson to the Browns for the next five years. A preponderance of the nearly 40-minute session dealt precious little with football and the record-setting contract. 

Watson has been under a microscope for the last year after 22 female massage therapists accused him of sexual assault and inappropriate behavior. This was his first venture out from under that microscope. He faced a relentless barrage of questions dealing with those accusations. 

Flanked by Browns General Manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski, Watson maintained his innocence, not just with those allegations but his behavior in general toward women. "I never disrespected any woman in my life," he said.

"I never did anything these people are alleging. I was raised (by a single mother and two aunts) to be genuine. I respect everyone and everything around me, I have always defended that and will continue to stand on that."

He was asked if it was intention to settle these cases out of court. "My intent" he said, "is to clear my name as much as possible."

He calmly answered all the questions about the numerous civil suits he is contesting (two grand juries in the Houston area separately declined to bring criminal charges against him) and the reasoning, after the Houston Texans placed him on the trade market, he chose to sign with the Browns.

Initially, the Browns, Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers were permitted to meet with Watson. The Browns reportedly were the first team eliminated. Carolina then was dismissed when they, again reportedly, declined to guarantee the last two years of a contract.

Next thing we know with Browns fans lamenting yet another failure to lure an elite quarterback, Watson stunningly chose the Browns after the Cleveland front office added $80 million to the original offer and guaranteed the entire five years, an unprecedented move in the NFL.

"The (contract) was secondary," Watson said. "That had nothing to do with me choosing the Cleveland Browns. . . It wasn't necessarily a turndown. The media was rushing me to make a decision.. . . . I knew Cleveland was the best from a football standpoint."

OK, stop right there.

The contract was secondary? Really? A fully-guaranteed lengthy contract that would pay him $46 million a year, $2,705,882.35 a game and $676,470.59 a quarter was secondary? C'mon. That's stretching the boundaries of credulity. 

"I didn't know about the contract until I told my agent I wanted to come and be a Cleveland Brown," he argued. 

And the media rushed him? No kidding. Since when is the media that powerful they can influence players to make decisions, especially important ones like this? When in trouble, the playbook says always blame the media. 

Because of the seriousness and sensitive nature of the charges, the Browns have been heavily criticized for dealing with an alleged sexual offender and then rewarding him handsomely. The sensitive nature of the allegations was bound to stir both sides of the controversy.

Once Watson and the Browns were initially linked, a Cleveland.com poll revealed nearly 60% of the voters were not in favor of the move. That's an astonishing number considering the huge number of devoted Browns fans in the area. Sides were clearly taken.

The malodorous aroma of the whole situation has also drawn national attention. Peter King, a prominent national sports columnist with NBC Sports went so far as to declare "the Browns sold their souls" to go after and then sign Watson. 

When it was announced the Browns traded six draft choices for Watson, half of them first-rounders in the next three drafts, Lindsay Jones of The Athletic wrote a piece headlined "Browns gave away a lot in trade for Deshaun Watson -- including their morals."

The Browns strongly suggested they conducted an extensive investigation of Watson the man and Watson the football player before deciding to go after the quarterback. Berry, who called it a five-month odyssey, said, "We feel very comfortable with Deshaun as a person and have a lot of faith in him.

"If we didn't get comfortable with Deshaun the person, it wouldn't have mattered how talented he was. We wouldn't have pursued the trade."

A check of the calendar indicates the odyssey began midway through last October in the early stages of a season that ended disastrously in early January with Baker Mayfield undergoing surgery on a badly injured left shoulder. 

So why, then, did Berry at the conclusion of last season declare, "We fully expect Baker to be our starter and bounce back" when he knew Watson was still being vetted? Inquiring minds want to know. The question was not asked Friday.

Any regrets, Watson was asked. "I don't have any," he said. "The hardest part is having everyone come at me from different directions and not being able to speak about it because of the ongoing investigations." 

One of his main goals in Cleveland, he said, is "to show people who I really am." That could prove more difficult than leading the Browns to the playoffs and beyond.

(Next: Explaining my recent absence)