Legends all around Jimmy Garoppolo And Deshaun Watson have conducted their courses concurrently in the 2022 off-season. Events in the near future may become more intertwined than they already are. 
Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports The Browns will “consider” Garoppolo if Watson’s suspension “significantly escalates.” The latter Banned for six games For violating the league’s personal conduct policy. This was roughly in line with what the Browns expected. Jacoby Brissett For the start of the season.
However, as expected, there is a league Appealed the suspension. As it did during Watson’s disciplinary hearing, the NFL will again push for a one-year ban while appealing to designer Peter Harvey. That process is expected to be a result Significant increase Watson was unavailable for a number of games. The Browns are built for immediate playoff contention, adding to their sense of urgency in acquiring a highly proven signal-caller.
The possibility of a Cleveland trade for Garoppolo isn’t new, of course. However, it was reported last month that the Browns Not considered A move to land the veteran 49er. Garoppolo, 30, has one year remaining on his current contract with a non-guaranteed salary of more than $24MM. That number has led to recent speculation that San Francisco They will hold him as long as possible To see if there will be any significant trading market activity in the coming weeks.
At that point, NBC Sports’ Matt Maiocco confirms It’s “unlikely at this point” for any team to trade Garoppolo without him negotiating a new deal that would reduce his 2022 cap hit. One possible exception to that, however, is Cleveland; With nearly $49MM in cap space, the team can comfortably absorb Garoppolo’s contract and use him as a replacement in Watson’s absence.
With the league looking to sideline Watson during the preseason, an announcement on the appeal could come very soon. Once that is done, the focus will turn back to the Browns’ QB schemes, and where Garoppolo fits into them.
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